Thaw Slowly
by Water-star
Summary: "Love will thaw..." He was told once by a wise soul and he could hardly wait for the day when Elsa's icy walls would finally melt. Five, ten, twenty, fifty years from now - it didn't matter. One day she will let her heart thaw and they'll be free to love one another.
1. Prologue: And I will try to fix you

_Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, nor How to train your dragon, or any of the lyrics used throughout this fanfiction. This is simply for entertainment purposes, not profit._

_In saying that, hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want, but not what you need  
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse...  
And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?  
Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

\- Coldplay

* * *

__The wind howled and snow whirled around Elsa mercilessly as she ran through the blizzard. The storm wouldn't cease and promised to bring destruction to all who were unfortunate enough to be caught in its grasp. Just like the turmoil raging within her aching heart.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**No, no, no! Oh Lord, why?**_**__**_**' **_**___She wondered as tears cascaded down her fair cheeks. __**__'__**_**_**Why Anna? Why her? Hasn't she already suffered enough during these past thirteen years? Why her? Why not me?**_**__**_**'**_**_

__"Anna..." she sobbed brokenly. Although she wanted nothing more in that instant ____than____ to return her sister's side and mourn her death, the Queen knew it was impossible.__

__"Guards! Seize her!"__

__She had heard the Duke of Weaselton order whilst Elsa clung to her sister's frozen form and Elsa knew that she had no other choice but to flee. Not because she wanted to live____—o____h no, she did not have that right. She was a monster____—____but the snow maiden knew she couldn't die even if she wanted to. The way she had fought against the Duke's men during the invasion was proof of that. The fact that her ____subconscious____ activated her magic and protected ____her____ from their attacks. ____Instincts____ kicked in and she almost killed the both of them without even realising it____—____oh Lord, if it had not been for Prince Hans...__

__Mother ____and____ Father would've been ____horrified.__

__"QUEEN ELSA!" she heard her name being called out. She instantly recognised the voice to be of the blonde man who escorted Anna to the north mountain and another wave of guilt rushed through her. "STOP! COME BACK! ANNA IS-"__

_**_**'**_**__**_**No, stop! I don't want to hear!**_**__**_' _**___She thought, shutting her eyes and clapping her hands over her ears.__

__The wind blew even harder and snow swirled around her trembling form; protecting her, isolating her.__

__She was an outcast to the land she was meant to reign over, a monstrosity to the people she was suppose____d____ to protect, a traitor to her family, a disgrace to the honour ____that she____ was meant to uphold as a royal, and worse, a murderer to the one good thing left in this wretched world.__

__Now she was all alone, just as she had always wanted and it was entirely her fault.__

__There was nothing left for her in the frozen kingdom of Arendelle.__

* * *

Hiccup awoke cold and shivering.

While it was not surprising considering it snowed nine months of the year and hailed the other three on the island of Berk, it was still rather alarming to find his entire room __(and much to his dismay, his bed)__ covered in frost and snow.

Alarmed, he turned to his side, wondering if his village was enduring some sort of monstrous snowstorm, or if he had simply left his window open again. However, his gaze softened a moment later when it caught sight of the petite figure slumbering next to him.

"Oh Elsa..." he murmured, realising now the culprit to the sudden chill.

_'___She ____must be having another nightmare.____' __He thought sombrely, watching the tortured expression etched across her face. The Viking Chief felt a stab of hopelessness and he wondered for what must've been the millionth time since their first encounter, if things would ever get easier between them.

_'___Beware ____the ____frozen ____heart___, ___Hiccup___.__' _His mind cautioned, reminding him despite the many trails they had faced together so far; they were rather minuscule in the grand scheme of things. His conscious would constantly taunt him for his failure that he, Hiccup Horrendous the Third, Chief of Berk and Tamer of Dragons, couldn't even keep his wife's powers at bay.

For him, everyday was a battle to get one step closer to understanding her a little bit better. At times, he felt like a small flame trying to melt the Bewilderbeast's icy domain, leaving him to ponder whether or not there's still some naivety` in him—or if he's just a hopeless fool who thinks his love is enough to thaw the icy wall surrounding Elsa's heart.

_'___Jeez___, ___some____ great husband I turned out to be!___' _He couldn't help from noticing how bitter he sounded, even in his own head. _'___Hel, I couldn't even protect my first wife from-____'__

No, stop. He needed to calm down. That was then and this is now. The past was is the past and he could only look to the future, for the sake of himself, Toothless, his people and his bloodline.

Besides, Astrid would be disappointed if she knew that he was still bitter about her death.

And he shouldn't be, he knew that, but that didn't stop him from wondering how different things would've panned out had he not gotten her pregnant. Well, he's got a __vague __idea of what it might have entailed, and as hard as it is to admit it; he's glad that everything happened the way it did. If not, he might not have ever met Elsa and just that thought is enough to make his chest __ache___._

His time with Astrid was like a lightning storm—beautiful, thrilling, unique. Every moment was like a lightning bolt, not only spectacular and fleeting, but unforgettable.

Astrid was lightning, whilst Elsa was a force of nature. She was strong, powerful, __unstoppable__. She could conquer lands and freeze oceans in a blink of an eye, and yet, had a heart as pure as snow. __Being __with her was like a snow storm; cold, rugged, blinding, fierce and sometimes scary. However, at the end of it all, the skies will clear and the world will be surrounded in beauty.

So even though he still loved Astrid and their unborn child and would continue to do so until the day he died—Hiccup loved Elsa even __more__. Which was funny because never in his twenty-four years of existence did the Chief of Berk believe he could ever love anyone nearly half as much as he had loved Astrid. And yet, here he was: lying in his snow-ladden bed with one of the most beautiful beings to have ever graced this earth. Even if he was being frozen in the process.

"Elsa..." He said, placing right onto her shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Psst Elsa!"

"Mmm..." she groaned sleepily. "Anna, go back to sleep."

Hiccup pouted, feeling a sudden surge of petty jealously upon being mistaken for her beloved baby sister and decided to brush it off. After all, it wasn't Anna's fault that Elsa loved her more than she loved her own husband.

_'That's_ not fair___,' _the rational part of him said. _'___You love Toothless just as much you love her, just in a different way... He taught you that you were capable of loving and being loved. The same goes for her too.'__

"Nice try," he retorted with that annoying sarcasm of his. "But not even close."

She frowned slightly, as if trying to distinguish whether his voice was apart of her dream or a part of reality. A moment later, she started stirring and she finally opened her eyes.

"Hiccup...?" she murmured confused, realisation seemed to kick in as she bolted upright. "Oh no! Not again! I didn't get you this time, did I? Are you okay? Oh you're shivering! I'll go get Toothless!"

"Whoa, whoa! Steady, Elsa." He said calmly, placing a firm grip onto her shoulders before she jumped out of bed, ran downstairs and awoke the Night Fury, who would be blissfully slumbering downstairs next to the fireplace at this moment. Sliding his hand down to her breast plate, he noted with a frown that her heart was beating at an extremely rapid rate. "It was Anna this time, wasn't it?"

Her azure blue eyes widened. "You could tell?"

"Well, usually when you freeze the entire room, it's usually to do with Anna. Other times, you just encase yourself in ice and turn really cold."

A gasp escaped his wife's lips and she covered them with her hands after she looked around the bedroom and realised the extent of damage she caused. Tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes and the Viking felt a surge of panic.

"Oh there's even icicles hanging from the ceiling! And the walls too! I hope none of your sketches or maps got damaged!" she rambled on, looking distressed. "Oh Hiccup, I'm so sorry! I screwed up again!"

Usually the snow maiden was a lot more composed in times of distress, so composed some would say that she was as cold as the ice that she manipulates so freely. It's hard to see her during those times, however, it was even harder seeing her so pained right now.

"Hey, you're looking at the Master of Screw-ups." He said, chuckling, while cupping her small face into his hands. His green eyes gazed into her blue ones and he decided whichever deity graced him with the presence of this magnificent woman; they had his eternal gratitude. "Screw-up is my middle name! Well, technically it's Horrendous... but you get the point. And let me tell you, I've got a pretty impressive line-up! So you're out of luck, Snowflake."

Normally, she would've raised an eyebrow, smirked a little and then made a light jab about Vikings and their terrible name-calling, but not tonight. Great. No, it's always a lot more difficult to pull her out of this mood whenever it involved the former Princess of Arrendelle. A touchy subject that Hiccup always had to tread carefully around, or disaster may strike.

"You know Anna would be really upset if she knew you were still blaming yourself..." He prodded gently, knowing that he must've sounded like the biggest hypocrite of all time.

"So would Chief Stoick." She shot back, as if reading his mind, but her reply lacked bite.

"Yeah..." he agreed, letting of her face. His eyes glazed with guilt. After all, if he still blamed himself for Stoick's death, how could he tell Elsa to let go of her mistakes, when he couldn't even forgive himself for his own?

"Let it go, Hiccup." She told him, raking her fingers through his rugged dark hair.

"Are you going to start singing?" he jabbed jokingly, hoping to lighten the depressing mood. "Because I really like that new verse you put into that song. __Up here in the cold thin air, I can finally breathe-___"_

"Please, Hiccup." She cut off playfully, trying to sound as civil as possible when they both knew that his vocals were just plain awful.

"Okay, so I'm not the best singer around. We can agree that you're better at singing, diplomacy and using awesome magical ice-powers whilst I'm better training dragons, engineering and running amok-"

Elsa kissed him. It was a light peck; sweet and innocent, and lasted only for an instant, but it was enough.

"Now about the ice-" She had started only to be interrupted by Hiccup smashing his mouth against hers.

Oh Odin, he had wanted to be gentle. She was not like Astrid; her wrists were thin and she bruised easily. He couldn't help it. Her kiss had set him on fire and he needed her to cool him down, as confusing as it may seem.

"Forget about the ice." He muttered, pulling her into another kiss. His fingers in the meantime were busy ruining her lovely braid, it took a while but finally __(FINALLY!) __he managed to make it come loose.

"Hiccup..." She sounded hesitant, which wasn't surprising. She was still new to all of this, even six months into this marriage. They had only made love a handful of times and Elsa was reluctant to initiate anything for fear of accidentally hurting her husband. Hiccup didn't mind though, he was a patient man and he respected her wishes.

Unfortunately, it didn't make things any easier to explain to the council.

__"Son, I understand you're afraid of the same thing happening to Elsa." __His mother told him a few days ago. __"But you need a____n____ heir ____to____ preserve the Hooligan bloodline. Otherwise, should you perish... Snotlout will be next in line."__

The problem was that they didn't __understand___._ Yes, he was afraid of losing Elsa, but that wasn't what was stopping them from starting a family.

No, Elsa herself was what was stopping them.

Whether she was conscious or not of it, something would always seem to happen before either of them could reach their climax. Last time the window shattered above them due to the extreme temperature drop and left Hiccup sporting a pretty impressive cut on his shoulder blade, the time before that her body had turned so unbearably cold that Hiccup could've sworn that her hair was starting to turn white.

She was still afraid, as painful as it was to admit it. She was still afraid of her abilities. She was still afraid to open up to him.

She was still too afraid to forgive herself...

"It's okay," he whispered against her lips. "We'll take it slow tonight."

Elsa pulled back and he wondered if he pushed her too far.

"Hiccup... we- we can't." She said shakily, wrapping her arms around her torso, a trait of hers whenever she felt vulnerable. Her back hit the wall as she tried to keep as much physical distance between herself and Hiccup. "I don't want to hurt you."

Hiccup felt his heart break. It were times like this that he wished he could've met her parents so he could congratulate them on successfully screwing up their daughter's psyche. Granted, his father might have not always been the best role model growing up and often left Hiccup feeling worthless, but never had the former Chief made his son ever feel like he had to shut himself away from the world just because of his mistakes.

"It's okay." He said, reaching out to cup her cheek, carefully, slowly, as if approaching a frightened creature. He's lost count of how many times he's said those words to Elsa, but the young Chief would continue to do so until she knew she didn't have to feel afraid any more. "I know you won't. You would never hurt me or anyone—you're a good person, a kind person."

Her eyes filled with tears and he couldn't help from smiling, although he could feel his own eyes beginning to water. "You have the biggest and warmest heart I've ever encountered, and I know you would rather be hurt than see anyone else suffer. You put the needs of the many before yourself, even after all you've endured."

She looked so beautiful in the moonlight with the way it highlighted her wild hair and illuminated her fair skin, and Hiccup desperately wished he had a sketchpad and some charcoal in his hands, so he could capture the image forever. He would just have to settle for memories instead.

"And that's why I love you."

It hadn't been an easy decision for either one of them to marry (well, re-marry in Hiccup's case) –with her still being plagued by her fears and insecurities and he still being haunted by his own inner demons. But for the Dragon tamer, it was one of the best he's ever made. She fixed him in ways he could've never have imagined and for that, she would always have his gratitude and undying devotion.

Elsa was stunned at his proclamation and he wished she didn't look with such blatant disbelief; as if she couldn't imagine anyone ever possibly loving her.

__"I'm a monster, Hiccup." __She had once told him, shortly after he met her.__"You'd ____do____ best to stay away from me."__

Of course, being use to dangerous beings on a daily basis, the Dragon tamer had chosen to ignore her warning and proceeded to visit her in that cold, icy cave he had stumbled into during a raging blizzard.

__"Please, just stay away! I just want to protect you!"__

She was not a monster and he wasn't afraid of her.

"I love you." He repeated, hoping she would understand. He trusted her with every fibre of his being—as much as he trusted Toothless and Astrid—and there wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she would hurt him.

The former Queen seemed to be at war with herself and something in him knew that this would be one of their most defining moments. It was make or break—would she leave the bed to get Toothless and pretend nothing had happened, or would she stay and let him love her?

The answer came a moment later when she pressed her lips against his and he couldn't remove the grin from his face.

__"Love will thaw..." __He was told once by a wise soul and he could hardly wait for the day when Elsa's icy walls would finally melt. Five, ten, twenty, fifty years from now—it didn't matter. One day she will let her heart thaw and they'll be free to love one another.

After all...

__"Some people are worth melting for."__

* * *

_Author's note:_

_So here ends the first chapter of "Thaw Slowly." What did everyone think? Liked it? Hated it? Be honest. I was a little reluctant to post this one up because I'm not fond of crossovers but I've become addicted to Hiccelsa and why not? Hiccup's HOT and Elsa's gorgeous! I'd they'd balance each other out quite well. Please review, it would really mean a lot to me and I should have the next chapter out soon._

_Thanks, Water-Star._


	2. Bring your mind to everlasting liberty

_As you glide in your stride_  
_With the wind as you fly away_  
_Give a smile from your lips and say_  
_I'm free, yes I'm free, now I'm on my way_  
_Come to see victory_  
_In a land called fantasy_  
_Loving life for you and me_  
_To behold, to your soul is ecstasy_  
_You will find other kind_  
_That has been in search of you_  
_Many lives has brought you to_  
_Recognise, it's your life now in review_

\- Earth, Wind &amp; Fire

* * *

Today was officially the second year of Astrid's passing and Hiccup couldn't handle it any more.

It was bad enough when his Father had died; a lot awkwardness, a lot of condolences made to him, a lot of tributes made, but it in the end the villagers had understood (after all, that is the life of a Viking—an occupational hazard) and accepted Stoick's fate in quiet mourning and all moved on relatively quickly.

However, Astrid's death was a tragedy and continued to linger on.

__"Oh how awful!" __He would sometimes hear some of the older women say amongst themselves, completely unaware that their Chief was listening. __"Such a young thing too! Not even the baby survived. What a cruel thing to happen to Chief Hiccup!"__

He knew that the villagers were still shaken by the news and still grieving for their Shield Maiden, but it was so hard __(so, so unbelievably hard) __not to lash out whenever he heard them talk about his wife and child in past tense. It was even harder when he would have to go to the training arena and see the gang. For the Chief, it was a painful reminder of how much everything that has changed between them.

Snotlout didn't boast as much, he lost that inflated ego that always managed to amuse &amp; annoy the young Chief growing up. In fact, Snotlout hardly talked at all—at least to him anyway—almost as if he didn't know __how __to talk to his cousin any more.

Tuffnut was tougher—best way to put it. His words, although still foolish, were a lot sharper and fewer whilst his sister, Ruffnut, was a lot more tactful and hardly bothered to retort to her brother's stupidity. Instead, she would simply whack him on the head and give him a scathing look.

Fishlegs was the only one who could still hold a conversation, although it would be rushed and uncomfortable; as if he were afraid to offend the Chief.

Even Toothless, his best friend who'd been with him through thick-and-thin, was somewhat estranged. However, Hiccup couldn't fault the dragon for doing so—he was still riddled with guilt for Stoick's death and it left the Viking wishing he could've handled it all differently.

__'____I wish I hadn't been so foolish to think Drago could've been reason with.____' __He thought countless times. _'___Or that I lashed out at Toothless when dad died. He didn't deserve the brunt of my anger.____'__

Throwing some provisions into his knapsack, Hiccup went through a mental check-list of any other items he might need during his journey. He had already packed his camping equipment on Toothless' saddle and wearing his riding gear; eager to feel the wind on his face again. He hadn't had much time to fly since his coronation and he knew Toothless would be going out of his mind from boredom. Fortunately, Astrid was always there to-

__'____**Was**, Hiccup, **was**...____' __His mind reminded him. _'___You'd be best to remember that.____'__

He wouldn't cry today. He couldn't. Not any more. He had already shed so many these past few years, for his Father, for Astrid, for his mistakes and shortcomings—so many, it wasn't even possible any more.

"Hiccup...?" He heard Mother call out from beneath the floorboards. It felt weird to be back in his old room especially after he moved out to live with Astrid. However, on the day she died, Hiccup burnt their entire house to the ground.

Listening to the creaking of the stairs, Hiccup waited for her to approach. He braced himself; no doubt she would disapprove of his plan.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah..." he answered simply, not wanting to go into details. The young Chief had been hoping to pack all his stuff and go before anyone caught him red-handed, but he knew how childish that was.

"How long?" she asked gently.

"A few days. A week at most..." He answered stiffly, still not bothering to look at her. Too afraid to see the disappointment in her eyes. Too afraid to start another fight. _"I know what you want to say; ___"____y____ou've got a____n____ entire village to run!"__ and that I'm being selfish leaving without bothering to write a note and that dad wouldn't approve-"

"You should go."

"What?" Turning around, Hiccup stared at his mother with a stunned expression.

"I understand."

Of course, she did. She knew exactly what it was like to lose a partner. How could he have not considered that?

"You've been working around the clock and it would do some good for you." Valka continued, not at all phased by her son's stupefied look. "Besides, Gobber and I both know how to run the village, so it'll be fine. Take as long as you need."

"Thanks, mum." He breathed out, relieved. "You don't know how much I appreciate this..."

And he sincerely meant that.

Valka gave a warm smile in kind, the type which he had longed for as a young boy who would watch the other children be comforted by their mothers, and Hiccup felt the familiar sting in his eyes.

Guess, he was wrong... there were still a few tears left in him.

* * *

Freedom and wind, they were the only two things that seemed to matter in those few hours as they flew through the sky. He gave a cheer whilst Toothless shot a fireball, just as ecstatic to be back in the air. Where they were going, it didn't matter—for the young Chief, he was just grateful to finally have some control.

After Stoick's passing, Hiccup's life had been nothing but tight schedules and duties to follow—he barely had five minutes to himself before he would be approached by someone seeking his counsel. Although, he had been aware of this would be role he would one day fulfil, he had never expected the workload—he could only wonder how his father achieved it and managed to raise a child all on his own.

Even though Hiccup was enjoying the flight, something was amiss and he knew just what would do the trick. Unfortunately, he also knew that Toothless would not approve.

"So what do you say, Bud? Shall we try some gliding?"

The dragon's response was a low growl, clearly not at all fond of his friend's idea.

"Oh come on, it won't be __that__ bad!" the Chief said, hoping to reassure the Night Fury.

Toothless warbled in protest.

"Yes, it's been a while since we've done anything thing of the sort." Hiccup agreed, understanding his dragon's apprehension. "But it'll be fine. A bit of practice and it'll be just like we never stopped."

The black dragon huffed, accepting defeat.

"It'll be fine, I promise."

Closing his eyes, Hiccup straightened his shoulders out, bracing himself both mentally and physically for what was to come. Although they had gotten a lot better with gliding, there was still a part of him that was reluctant to continue. Which was funny; a few years ago he would've done so without a second thought or concern for his safety, but now that he was Chief, and with no heir—Hiccup knew he couldn't be so reckless.

"Here we go."

As he allowed himself to slide off the saddle and fall through the sky, Hiccup let out a cry as adrenaline coursed through his veins and the wind billowed around him. No matter how many times he had done it thus far, it never ceased to feel amazing.

There's nothing like being on the brink of death to make you realise just how alive you are.

Toothless followed closely behind, he too enjoying the sensation of free-falling, despite his earlier hesitation.

The dragon rider relished the feeling for a few more seconds before finally releasing the parachute, being projected back to the sky and a moment later, he was gliding freely through the clouds.

Hiccup's heart felt lighter and for the first time in forever, he felt joy.

* * *

Another day coming to an end. Good.

Elsa didn't know how many more she would have to endure, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered any more.

Anna __(oh sweet, lovely Anna) __was dead now and it was all her fault.

She'd lost count of how many days since she left Arendelle—she wanted to carve into her skin as a painful reminder of the sins she committed, but her magic wouldn't allow her.

It wasn't fair, she wanted to die __(oh Lord, how she yearned to die!)__ and yet, death continued to elude her. She wondered if it was God's punishment for all the pain she had indirectly inflicted onto her sister when they were younger and for the suffering she had bestowed onto her kingdom.

What she did know was that time did __not __heal all wounds and that Elsa was all alone.

__'____Oh Lord...____' __She prayed, closing her eyes and blocking her sight of the sunset. There was another good hour or so before the sun would vanish completely and the former Queen would be forced to endure another lonely night. '__Please forgive me for my immorality. I can only hope you will bring an end to my wretched existence so I can be reunited with Anna and our parents. Please, I beg of you!____'__

She couldn't even remember the last time she ate anything decent. A handful of berries, found during her last expedition outside the cave, but other than that, nothing. She didn't know how to make a fire and she couldn't bring herself to hunt down some poor furry creature. So many had already suffered because of her cursed powers, she refused to let another soul suffer for her selfish needs.

So if she would die through starvation then so be it, because it sure as hell wouldn't be from frostbite.

"The cold never bothered me anyway." Elsa said bitterly, almost wanting to laugh at the irony. At one point she had sung those words joyfully, when she was alone and she thought she was free to be the person she wanted to be without having to suffer the consequences.

How foolish of her.

With a wave of her hand, the icy doors to her cave slammed shut and she listened to the soft sound of snow falling to the ground, completely covering the entrance.

She had been more cautious this time. Instead of some grand castle of ice on the top of a mountain, which would clearly attract the attention of curious bystanders, she resorted to making a cave in the middle of a mountain. Where? She had no idea, just that it was far, far away from Arendelle and any of its neighbouring countries—so far, she crossed the ocean and kept walking until she collapsed here—no longer able to keep moving, weighed down by the burden of her awful powers, unable to shoulder her grief any more.

She had decided to live on the gigantic mountain, knowing it would be difficult for anyone to climb the summit, and had even managed to darken the ice of her new home to blackish hue to blend in with the rest of the snow covered mountain—completely disguising the hideout, whilst below laid a beautiful lake surrounded by lush woods. At least it __had __been, once...

Unfortunately due to her lack of control over her powers, the area was now completely encased with ice &amp; snow. At first, Elsa had worried that it might attract the attention of any nearby villages and she would face an army of fire &amp; pitchforks, however, given she had not heard anything other than her own breathing for these past few months, it was safe to assume that she was living in uncharted territory. That was fine with her.

_"I belong here. Alone… __w__here I can be who I am without hurting anybody."_

No one would find her this time. She would see to that.

* * *

In hindsight, perhaps gliding in an unknown location where he had no bearings or any knowledge of landmarks during a sunset hadn't been such a good idea—the Chief realised whilst brushing the powdery snow off his rider's suit.

_'___Let's see,___' _he thought, doing a mental check-list of his person. _'___No broken bones, no missing teeth, and one incredibly irritated reptile____—____yep, ____every thing's____ right with the world.____'__

"Well, that was a close one! Good thing, that forest was there to break our fall!" He said to his companion, although he knew doing so would only irritate the Night Fury even further. Noticing Toothless' deadpan expression, he added, "Oh come on! That mountain came out of nowhere!"

The dragon huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, perhaps after my near death experiences of the same manner would've taught me a thing or two about having some foresight. Yes, I'm sorry that I've been relying on you as a perpetual cushion to break my fall, and no, I won't do it again. There, you satisfied?"

One tail sweep and a snow covered Hiccup told him no, he was not satisfied.

"Thanks a lot, you useless lizard." He muttered, once again brushing snow off his suit, whilst Toothless warbled unapologetic—clearly amused at his friend's annoyance. "Oh yeah, how about trying this on for size!"

The Chief had been way too optimistic in thinking he was strong enough to tackle a fully grown dragon, even one as small as Toothless, but it had been fun nevertheless as they wrestled and played theatrics. Funnily enough, it reminded him of the day he was told of his fate.

__"What you're searching for isn't out there, Hiccup."___ Astrid spoke calmly, braiding his hair, before placing a hand over his chest with a warm smile. ___"It's in here. Maybe you just don't see it yet."__

He was so young back then and still so uncertain about the path he needed to take, and yet, Astrid rode in, walked right up to him and pointed out the obvious. Astrid had always believed in him ever since she met Toothless, always offering words of support when he lost all hope, a moral compass to steer him in the right direction when he didn't know where to go—oh Gods, Astrid...

_'Why did it have to be her?'_

They had only been married for such a short period of time and yet, she was taken when they were about to embark on their greatest journey. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't of died just for birthing their child. If he could, he would gladly swap his life so that Astrid would live, but sadly it wasn't possible and he knew even if he could, his wife would never forgive him for making such a selfish decision. The Shield Maiden had always believed duty should be put before the needs of your own.

After all, a Chief protects his own, and not much good would come from his demise.

__'____Especially if Snotlout had to take reign.____' __Hiccup thought, suppressing a shudder. _'___Oh yeah, can definitely see it now: Berk in a state of perpetual war with the rest of the world whilst tarnishing the good name of dragons.____'__

No definitely not a good thing.

Still he missed her with every fibre of his being and knew without a doubt he would never love another woman again. Hiccup had already decided he would not remarry—much to his mother's and the Elders' despair—but he could care less.

He vowed to never love again, or may Thor strike him down… again.

__'____No, ____I____ definitely don____'____t want ___**_**that **_**___to happen again!____' __He mused, remembering the last time he was struck by lightning. It was not a very pleasant experience, he was just lucky he recovered so quickly—or that Valka wasn't there to see it, or no doubt she would've wrangled him for his carelessness.

Despite her laid-back approach to mothering at the beginning, the former dragon vigilante had become wearier over time to Hiccup's antics and would often scold her son for doing anything she deemed as reckless. It was frustrating and the young Chief could only point it to Stoick's passing and Valka being afraid to lose the last thing which connected them together as husband &amp; wife. Unfortunately, it didn't make things any easier and they had faced countless arguments as a result.

__'____I just don't know how to talk to her...____'__

Just then Toothless crooned sadly, before nuzzling his head against Hiccup's chest. The Night Fury had always been good at picking up on his rider's feelings and offer emotional support; Hiccup could only begin to wonder how he was lucky enough to have a dragon as compassionate as Toothless and not be fed up with his constant mood-swings.

"Sorry Bud. You could tell?" he apologised as he sat himself up whilst Toothless pulled back and sat before him like an attentive dog. Running a hand through his hair, he admitted, "A million things are running through my mind and yet none of which will benefit me in the near future... I just... don't know what to do any more. The other day, the Elders called me in for a council session and suggested an arranged marriage. Can you believe that? Astrid's hardly been gone two years, and yet I'm expected to move on."

The black dragon crooned again, his bright green eyes conveying sadness and understanding. Of course, he would understand—having lost a dear friend as well. Two, in fact...

Stormfly died shortly after Astrid's passing, refusing to eat despite the coaxing of all the riders. Sadly, the Nadder lost all its will to live and drew its last breath exactly two weeks after her owner. It hit Hiccup even harder than Astrid's death, as both a dragon tamer and a grieving husband.

"I'm sorry, Bud." He said again. "This was supposed to be a fun trip and here I am bringing it down. Come on, let's explore this place. I wanna get to the base of that mountain we almost crashed into and set up camp there."

The Night Fury said nothing in response and simply followed.

It was strange, Hiccup thought, as he observed the land and its surroundings. All of it was covered in a thick layer of snow, which was odd considering it was spring now and the land should be technically be thawing somewhat. Even though this was the first time he was visiting this land and he had no bearings of it flora &amp; fauna, the Chief had spent many years travelling the other islands surrounding the area, and knew from experience that the weather was fairly similar to the type they endured on Berk.

__'____There's hardly a sound.____' __He noted after an hour, shivering a little despite himself. '__I expected to at least find some animal tracks and yet, there's nothing... what gives?____'__

Even Toothless seemed to notice the bizarre ambiance of this forest. He was walking with such precaution, his ears slicked, and his head flicking from side-to-side; as if expecting something to pop out at any moment.

All of a sudden he growled and bolted forward, rushing past Hiccup.

The Viking felt his heart pick up a pace. "Toothless...? What's up, Bud? What's wrong?"

Of course, the Night Fury was too far gone, leaving Hiccup with no choice to run after him. Which proved to be rather difficult considering the snow was almost knee-deep, he only had one foot, and he was chasing after one of the fastest dragons on record.

"Wait up!"

Still, he persisted—worried for his friend. The Whispering Death flashed through his mind and just the thought made him push himself even further. Their friendship had strengthened immensely over the years—there could not be one without the other—and they had learned that trust, communication &amp; respect were the most vital things. However, the idea of Toothless abandoning him again so he could try to fight alone, frightened Hiccup.

"Toothless!" he called out, even though he was running out of breath. Still no reply from his companion.

A few minutes later and the Viking could finally see the exit approaching them. He used the remainder of his energy, pushed through the pain, ignored the dizziness threatening to consume him, and finally he was out.

Hiccup fell to his knees, landing on the soft snow and focused on regaining his breathing; relieved that they were now out of the forest and that he had managed to catch up with his friend.

__'____Inhale, exhale.____' __He prompted himself, eyes squeezed tight. _'___Keep breathing, that's the key.____'__

"Oh man, Bud." He wheezed out. "You shouldn't run off like that. You know how I worried I get!"

Toothless did not respond, much to the rider's annoyance, prompting Hiccup to raise his head and finally becoming aware of his surroundings. He lost his breath again.

"Wow..."

It was astonishing, though it was difficult to describe. Where they were was at the edge of a lake, the left side surrounded by the dense forest, whilst the right side went on for as far as the eye could see. It seemed to go on for miles and Hiccup briefly wondered where it would lead to and if it was connected to any of the rivers or waterfalls he had seen previously. Across the lake, a few hundred feet before them stood the mountain which Hiccup had been eager to reach. It was even bigger than he imagined and he noticed, much to his astonishment, was encased with giant spikes of ice. They weren't random, he realised as he leaned forward trying to get a closer look; they were in a flowing formation, as if they were streams suddenly frozen solid by the late Bewilderbeast.

__'____How is that even possible?____' __He wondered in awe. _'___Is it the work of an ice dragon?____'__

His musings were suddenly disrupted by Toothless' growls.

"Woah! Woah, Toothless! Calm down!" Rushing to the Night Fury's side, he wrapped his arms around his friend's chest and neck, hoping to calm him. Still, the dragon did not calm and instead bared his teeth, his pupils narrowing to slits, ready to charge. Hiccup, for the life of him, couldn't understand why. Looking back to the mountain, the Chief tried searching for anything that might seem abnormal.

__'____Doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary, unless you ignore the crazy ice sculptures.____'__ He thought sarcastically.

Although he wanted nothing more than to explore the bizarre mountain and search for the cause of Toothless' distress, Hiccup knew if he did so, the Night Fury would without a doubt go berserk. Besides, if there was anything he had learned after the whole Typhoomerang incident, it was to _never_ ignore your dragon's instincts. Communication is vital between dragons &amp; their riders, and it's important to accept that they have better intuition than you.

"I think we should camp here."

Toothless snapped his head over to Hiccup's direction, his green eyes reflecting his confusion &amp; concern.

"I know, Bud." He said, reading his friend's thoughts. "You're right, something's not right with this place, but we've riding all day and we're both exhausted."

The dragon crooned in protest.

"No, out of the question. You need to rest before we fly again. We'll have an early night and leave by sunrise."

Toothless cooed softly, begrudgingly accepting his stubborn friend's decision.

"It'll be fine," the Viking said reassuringly, even though he couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling. "Help me set up."

Fortunately, setting up camp had been fairly easy with the Night Fury melting the ground underneath them whilst Hiccup pulled out one of his new inventions from one of the knapsacks tied to Toothless' saddle. It was a device made of lightweight fabric and metal poles which could form a temporary house. He wasn't sure what to call the unusual contraption, but_ "___Tent___" _felt like a good name. From the same bag, he also pulled out a pillow &amp; blanket this time and laid them inside the tent. Usually the cold didn't bother him whenever he went camping and would instead solely rely on Toothless' body temperature for warmth, however, with how unusual this place seemed, Hiccup had a feeling he would be needing it.

Next was dinner which proved to be rather tricky since the only source of food and water was encased with an absurdly thick layer of ice. Still, one fire blast later they were able to salvage some drinking water, but no fish. Fortunately, Hiccup had enough foresight to pack some provisions in case of such a situation. It wasn't much, but it filled their stomachs and would last them for the next few days.

Finally, it was bedtime and neither could wait to lay down and get some shut eye.

"Try not to snore tonight, okay Bud? Some of us need our beauty sleep." Hiccup said in good humour as he pulled the blanket over his body, now clad in a simple tunic &amp; soft pants.

Toothless simply snorted, perfectly content on his burnt patch of earth.

"Goodnight."

That night, Hiccup fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Elsa was not so fortunate that night...

* * *

_AN: And that's the end of Chapter 1! So what did everyone think? I tried not to rush the beginning of chapter but because I was so eager to get Hiccup on the road, I think that's what I pretty much did... Then again, how much detail can one go into for one day before it feels too long? Meh, it doesn't matter._

_Anyway, onto the more important stuff: like my reviews. OMG 11?! That's probably the most I've ever received for one chapter so a huge THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! You're all so kind &amp; supportive and it makes me want to do the best I can._

_Also another huge THANK YOU to **TheWritingFactory** for proof-reading this chapter and giving me feedback &amp; a couple of ideas which I used in this chapter. Thanks man, it really helped me. A LOT!_

_Please review, it's so addictive! Until next time._


	3. How long will you hide your face?

_I watch the city burn  
These dreams like ashes float away  
Your voice I never heard - only silence  
Where were you when our hearts were bleeding  
Where were you? It all crashed down  
Never thought that you'd deceive me  
Where are you now?  
How long can you stand the pain?  
How long will you hide your face?  
How long will you be afraid?  
Are you afraid?  
How long will you play this game?  
Will you fight or will you walk away?  
How long will you let it burn?  
Let it burn? Let it burn?_

\- Red

* * *

__White.__

__Everything was white as far as the eye could see and Elsa couldn't stand it.__

_**_**'No... no... this can't be happening!' **_**___She thought, staring at Arendelle in horror.__

__Some way or another she had managed to steer clear of the Royal Guards &amp; the Duke's henchmen, cross the ____fjord____ and navigate____d____ to a high ____enough____ altitude to assess the seriousness of the situation, and she felt sick.__

__Her beloved kingdom now covered in ice &amp; snow. Ships frozen in water, unable to move. Nobody could get in or out, and it led Elsa to a horrible ____realisation—____people ____**w**____**ou**____**l**____**d**____ die. Her kingdom w____ou____l____d____ run of out supplies, die from the cold or starvation and many nations w____ou____l____d____ be left without their leaders or ambassadors, ____which could____ possibly lead to an all-out war.__

__Elsa had screwed up. Big time. Not even Queen for a week and she had single-handedly managed to bring her kingdom to ruins. Any hope she ever had to be a fair &amp; just ruler like her father____—____gone. Floating away like the snowflakes falling around her.__

__The world w____ould____ suffer for her mistakes, and yet, that did not even bother her in the slightest compared to the worst realisation of all...__

_**_**'Anna **_**_**_**i**_**_**_**s dead. Dead.'**_**_

__She just wanted to conjure a____n____ ice-shard &amp; shove it through her chest. Anything to ease the searing pain burning through her chest.__

**_**'You killed her. You killed Anna.'**_**

__More tears welled in her eyes ____and____ streamed down her cheeks. ____S____he wondered if they would ever go away.__

**_**'No, they never will. Because you killed her. Anna, your precious baby sister who had wanted nothing more than for you to build a snowman with her. You ignored her, you denied her the chance to be happy and then you froze her heart...'**_**

__"I'm sorry, Anna." She croaked out, closing her eyes as grief overwhelmed her. "I'm so sorry..."__

**_**'You're nothing but a monster.'**_**

* * *

Elsa awoke with a gasp. Her body trembling, covered in a sheen of sweat, frost &amp; tears. Realising she had dreamed of the past again, she let out a sob. Oh Lord, how much longer must she endure this awful existence? Why wouldn't he just put her out of her misery? Couldn't he see the chaos she was causing? The lives she ruined? Why would he continue to let her live when she's nothing but a nuisance to all those around her?

__'____The answer's simple.____' __Her mind answered, the same cold voice that always liked to show when she was at her weakest. _'___It's because God does not exist. God is meant to be a perfect being____—____a divine being... ____h____e never would've created an abomination like you.____'__

How true. How painfully, painfully true.

God did not heed to her prayers for help to her control her powers, or to let her be a normal human girl, or even to protect her parents when they went on their voyage.

God did not exist. Simple.

__'____Then that means I'm truly all alone.____' __She thought, her chest aching at the realisation. '__But in the end, isn't that what I had always wanted?____'__

Yes... and no. She had always wanted to be herself without the fear of persecution or being branded as a witch, and if that meant she had to live in isolation then so be it. However, growing up and seeing the constant fear &amp; disappointment in her parents eyes made her __crave __to a better daughter, someone they could be proud of. She tried, she truly did. Not only for the sake of herself &amp; her parents, but Anna too. Oh how she yearned to play with her sister and go back to how they were before the accident.

__"Do you wanna build a snowman?"__

Of course, she wanted to build a snowman—it's just that Father would never have allowed it.

Rising from the comfort of her bed; a structure made of ice and covered in soft snow for cushioning, Elsa ran a hand over her braid and noted how pale it looked. It used to be platinum blonde and yet these past few months, she had noticed it was becoming lighter &amp; lighter.

__'____At this rate, my hair's going to turn ____pure____ white. Not that it matters.____' __She thought with a frown, before looking down to her bare feet. They were now covered in cuts and scars after she had discarded her shoes somewhere along the journey to here and even her beautiful blue dress she had conjured so wonderfully &amp; wore so proudly, now reflected her heart and was as black as the night sky—it didn't sparkle, nor did it shimmer.

She had no right to feel beautiful.

Getting up from her bed, the Snow Queen decided that there was no way in Hell she was going back to sleep, and instead, made her way to the entrance of the cave. Willing the doors open, Elsa stepped outside, opened her arms and embraced the cold chill. Relishing it, hating it—she couldn't decide—but she knew it was better than being inside and being overwhelmed by her emotions.

__"Up here in the cold thin air, I finally can breathe..." __She sung softly with eyes closed. __"I know I left a li____f____e behind, but I'm too relieved to grieve..."__

Opening her eyes again, the young woman took in the sight of the full moon, enjoying the way it glowed and highlighted the entire land; from the trees, to the lake, to the—wait...

__'____What is that?____' __She wondered, her heart skipping a beat, she leaned closer. By the edge of the lake seemed to be some sort of foreign object in the form of a dark cube. '__What on earth is that?____'__

It definitely wasn't there this afternoon when she had been watching the sunset, so when...?

__'____Ha____s____ it been there this whole time and I____'ve____ never noticed i____t before____?____'__

No, definitely not. Upon closer inspection she noticed the edge of the lake was somewhat melted.

"No, calm down." She whispered to herself, wrapping her arms around her torso. "It's probably nothing."

But there was no way of knowing unless she went down to investigate and just the thought made her nervous.

__'____Even if it is something,____' __she thought in a meagre attempt trying to reassure herself. _'___You know this land like the back of your hand and if it is something, you can cover your tracks so it won't be able to follow you and if it finds you, create a blizzard, ____a____nd if all else fails, you can fight...'__

The idea of using her powers again for battle was nauseating and Elsa could only hope it wouldn't come to it.

* * *

It was incredibly easy to get down to the left side lake. With one ice slide &amp; a giant pile of snow to cover it up, Elsa was on the ground in a matter of minutes. Wandering through the forest, she noticed with much sadness how quiet it was.

__'____Not a single animal in sight,____' __she noted regretfully. _'___Are they all in hibernation, or are they dead?____'__

More life suffering because of her... how much longer would the world have to endure her wretched powers?

"Ouch!" She bit her lip as her foot stepped on something sharp, a branch most likely. Looking down, she noticed a few droplets of blood staining the pure white snow and she frowned. This would make it a bit more difficult to cover her tracks, but Elsa wasn't too concerned.

__'____No point dwelling in it now...____' __Her mind pointed out. '__You've got more important tasks at hand.____'__

Yes, she needed to find that bizarre object and decide whether it was a threat or not. She continued, walking along the edge of the forest, using the lake as her compass. It would've been easier to have simply walked across the frozen lake, however, it would've left her exposed to her target. This way she could still get to her location and yet, keep a respectable distance.

Another ten minutes or so, she finally reached her destination and she couldn't help but look at it in wonder. Whatever it was, it was quite large and appeared to be made out of some sort of light material &amp; held up by... __poles___? _There also seemed to be some sort of entrance, she realised, noticing a small gap in between the material.

Curious, Elsa approached closer despite her intuition screaming at her to turn back and run. She ignored it, and was about to grab the material when all of a sudden she heard a deep growl. Pulling back, the young woman felt her heart beginning to pound and took several steps back. Then the material started shifting and the entire thing collapsed, a cry could be heard and whatever was in that device was clearly very large &amp; very dangerous.

Elsa bolted and didn't dare to look back. Much to her distress the creature had decided to follow and it was __fast__.

_****ROAR****__**!**_

__'____Oh what a dreadful noise!____'__ She thought, clapping her hands over her ringing ears. It carried on &amp; echoed through the lonely forest, shaking the woman to the core. The young woman kept running as far her body would allow her, through the forest, ducking &amp; weaving and even managing to cut her leg against another broken branch, however, she did not let that deter her. Unfortunately, the creature seemed to be onto her idea and she could hear it rapidly approaching and she was __terrified__.

Despite her reluctance, she turned her head back, morbidly curious to see the creature which might be the very bringer of her death. She was not disappointed. It was not a simple dog or wolf as she had previously anticipated... oh no, it was much worse. Following her was a dragon_ (___an actual real life dragon!)__ as black as the night sky and with green eyes that glowed menacingly in the pale moonlight; eager to hunt her down, break her neck, impale her torso, gorge on her insides-

__'____Stopstopstop! Get it together. Control it!____'__

That's right. She might be human, but she still had the power of ice &amp; snow. She might hate it, but it was all she had right at this moment. Gathering some courage, Elsa stopped dead in her tracks, turned around and willed an ice barrier as large as her magic would allow her in that one hazy-adrenaline filled moment. She watched it rise &amp; solidify, and she thought it would be enough, except she was proven wrong as she heard a whistling sound and watched the icy wall be illuminated before cracking &amp; exploding into a thousand pieces.

Fortunately, her instincts kicked in and provided another ice barrier to protect her from the explosion, however, it did nothing to ease her ever growing fear. Already, she could feel snow drifting around her and she knew that there would be a storm.

She could only hope it would be enough to conceal her.

It seemed to work she noticed as she turned around and kept running, because she could hear the beast roar again but it sounded more distant. Still, Elsa did not turn back and continued running until she returned to the icy slide, removed the snow and put all her energy into her hands to push herself against the ice, a trick she used to pull when she would ice-skate with Anna, until she finally got back up the mountain. She covered the slide again, hurried to her cave, flung the doors closed, threw herself into the corner of her home and curled into a small ball.

The walls of the cave started glowing a bright red and she could hear ice cracking &amp; forming into sharp spikes all around her.

Oh Lord, she had never felt such fear before! Not at her Coronation, not when she discovered that she had frozen Arendelle, not when she was ambushed, not even when she had escaped the prison. None of them compared to this awful feeling she felt right now.

A storm was brewing outside and she could only hope to God that the creature would not find her.

* * *

"Toothless, what the Hel, Bud!?" Hiccup demanded even though the dragon was nowhere in sight, irritated beyond all belief. One minute he's peacefully sleeping, the next minute, he's woken up to the Night Fury growling and bolting out of the tent like there was some sort of raid. Looking at the damage, he continued, "Awww great! The entire thing's ruined! You useless reptile."

Okay, perhaps he should have been alarmed as to exactly why his friend acted so irrationally just now, however, the rider tended to get insanely cranky when he was tired. Sleep was a rare feat for him nowadays and he hated being disturbed from his slumber. How he could survive on such small dosages as teen was beyond him, but now he needed a good 10 hours before he could function.

He would need his mother to restitch the entire thing when he got back because it was no use at this current point.

__'____Looks like we'll be heading back earlier than expected,____' __he thought, annoyed. '_S___o much for taking as long as I need!____'__

Going back in, Hiccup threw on his rider armour again and started repacking his bags, grumbling the entire time. After he was done, he stepped outside again and started packing away the ruined tent, he had just finished adjusting them back onto the saddle when he heard Toothless approach. Turning back to his friend, he was about to ask the Night Fury as why he had rushed outside, when he felt a sudden chill and a powerful breeze surrounded them.

The dragon screeched and Hiccup's blood ran cold.

__'____Blizzard!____' __He realised, looking up to the sky. '__Where on earth did it come from?____'__

Living on the Isle of Berk for twenty-three years, Hiccup had grown accustomed to devastating winters and merciless blizzards, however, ever since setting foot here, everything had been so bizarre. From the lack of life, to the lake and especially the waterfalls—they were frozen spikes for Odin's sake! Every breath he took, something weighed heavy on his soul. He couldn't exactly describe it; it wasn't dread, it wasn't fear and yet it was __something___. _Whether it was good or not, Hiccup didn't feel inclined to find out.

"Toothless!" he exclaimed and his friend immediately understood. They had only just managed to adjust the saddle when the storm hit."Woah!" he cried as a cold gust hit them, grateful to be wearing his mask.

The Night Fury roared, clearly worried.

"Hang on, Buddy." He said after jumping on and adjusting his prosthetic leg. Patting the back of the dragon's neck, hoping to calm his friend, he said, "We'll be okay."

Toothless crooned, believing his words before crouching low and soaring into the air. That is, until they got hit by another powerful gust of wind and were thrust into the heart of the storm. The Night Fury tried his best to fly up and escape the blizzard, but it proved to be hopeless and they were catapulted. Hiccup held tight, bracing himself against the rough ride and he could only wonder how his friend was faring. Toothless gave a pained screech and the Chief's eyes widened as he realised both to his horror &amp; astonishment, the dragon's wings were becoming coated with ice.

__'____…What? How is that even possible?____'__

"NO!" the Chief cried as he felt them fall.

Hiccup had lost track of the amount of times he'd fallen; he can remember the battle of Red Death, battle with Whispering Death, battle with Drago—the list was endless. He should be used to all this now, and yet this was the first time he saw his life flash before his eyes, as horribly cliché as it sounded.

He saw Toothless tangled &amp; frightened waiting to be killed, bonding with Toothless, flying with Toothless, being accepted by his peers, flying with Astrid, being kissed by Astrid, Toothless protecting him from the Nightmare, fighting with his dad, being accepted by his peers for real this time, being accepted by his dad, fighting the Red Death, waking up and realising he had lost something important, being kissed by Astrid again, seeing the villagers accept him, all the adventures he had with his friends growing up, meeting his mother, losing his father, yelling at Toothless, reconciling with Toothless, defeating Drago, Toothless becoming the Alpha, his Coronation, marrying Astrid, his first night with Astrid, Astrid telling him the wonderful news, Astrid's belly becoming swollen &amp; putting up with her mood-swings, Astrid reassuring him that she'd be alright as he got pushed out of their room by the midwives...

He would die soon and yet, he didn't mind the idea.

__'____At least, I'll get to see Astrid again...____'__

Fate had other plans.

"WOAH!"

Instead of crash landing into the frozen lake &amp; drowning to death, or breaking every bone in their bodies and bleeding to death; Hiccup &amp; Toothless found themselves, by some great miracle, colliding against something solid before landing in a huge pile of snow.

"… Urgh..." The rider grimaced, rubbing his shoulder. It really ached and he could only hope it hadn't been dislocated, at least he was in his armour. Injuries could have been worse otherwise. Regardless, he was grateful that they were okay. "Toothless, you okay?"

The Night Fury warbled beneath him gently and it worried him. Hopping off the dragon, the Chief started scanning his friend for any visible injuries, but it was useless. Snow flurried all around them and relying solely on the moonlight, he was lucky that he could even see Toothless at all.

"No good, Bud. I can barely see a thing! We need shelter."

Toothless cooed in agreement.

Hiccup turned around, trying to distinguish their location, and if he didn't know any better, he would say they were now on the mountain.

__'____What am I going to do?____' __He wondered, neither of them were in any condition to resume flying and even though they had been in snowstorms before, Hiccup had always been able to make it out alive because of Toothless' wings would be used as a makeshift shelter, which now looked slumped—as if they were now burdened by the weight if the storm. They would freeze to death at this rate.

Then out of nowhere, he heard something.

"Hey Bud, do you here that?"

Toothless' ears pricked up in response, trying to listen. It was hard to make out with the wind howling around them, but Hiccup could have sworn he heard... crying?

"Where's that coming from?" Even though he asked that, he knew it was coming from directly behind them. Turning around, Hiccup turned and realised what they had crashed into appeared to be a set of doors made from ice.

__'____Ice doors...?____' __He wondered if he was imagining things. Touching it with his bare fingers, a gasp escaped his lips as they moved inwards and his suspicions were confirmed. '__What on earth...? How is that-____'__

_"_Oh forget it!" He muttered to himself, probably sounding like some sort of madman. He had asked that exact question a million times tonight and he doubted he'd be getting an answer anytime soon. "Come on, Toothless. We're going in."

The dragon perked up before growling again.

"Oh come on, it's not like we have much of a choice!" he argued back. "Whatever may be in there is nothing compared to what we've been through."

Toothless seemed to think about this before finally he nodded.

Bracing himself for whatever may come, Hiccup knocked.

* * *

_****KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!****_

Elsa looked up and she felt her heart still.

__'____Is that what I think it is?____'__

Turning her head towards the direction of the entrance, the young woman looked on stunned as for the first time in forever, the doors to her home were opened by someone other than her.

Elsa rose up and took a step towards the entrance. She should have been terrified, but after months of isolation on a mountain far away from any sort of human contact, it seemed so surreal. No, there was more to it. After years of sitting behind a closed door and listening to retreating footsteps, it just seemed so bizarre someone was actually ignoring her silent treatment and proceeding, regardless of her desire to be alone.

"Anna...?" She found herself asking, before cursing her foolishness.

_'No, she'll never knock on your door again.'_

"Uh hello...?" A voice followed, breaking through her depressing musings. It definitely belonged to a male, even though it sounded somewhat muffled. She couldn't make out his appearance because it was so dark, despite the red glow emanating through the cave, but Elsa was able to catch the outline of the stranger. "I don't mean to intrude, especially so late at night, but my friend &amp; I got caught in this blizzard. We were camping by the lake and then all of a sudden there comes this giant blizzard! I mean it just came out of nowhere! Our tent is ruined and we need a place to stay. Just for a few hours, of course! Just until the storm passes over. Please."

Camping? Tent? Suddenly it made sense to what that strange contraption was, as silly as it may seem. Given her sheltered existence, Elsa wasn't all too aware of the outside world's resources. Granted, she knew that her military needed shelter of some sort whenever stationed on foreign; it's just she never considered __what__ exactly they used.

Even though his explanation sated her curiosity, it also, only raised further questions. The most important ones being: what was that creature in the shelter? Was it a guardian of some sort, and where was it now?

__'____Not only that, ____but____ how did this man &amp; his friend even get up here? The storm started not too long ago and yet, they've managed to navigate their way across the frozen lake, climb the mountain and find this cave. Who are these people?____'__

Elsa bit her lip and said nothing in response. Hoping against all hope that he would be put off by her silence and leave, even though it was her fault he was there in the first place.

__'____How can you be so selfish? These people are without any sort of shelter and stuck in this snowstorm because of you. They could die and yet you're more concerned about yourself? How many more people have to suffer because of you? Haven't you ruined enough lives already?____'__

"Hello...? Anyone in here?" the man asked, taking another step into the cave.

The wind howled louder. It was getting stronger and the young woman knew she had to do the right thing.

"Y-yes!" she stuttered, cringing at her awkward response.

__'____So much for good impressions...____'__

"Oh great! I was worried that no one lived here and I was intruding on a dragon's territory."

Dragon...? What on earth was this man talking about?

"N-no, it's just me..." Elsa replied nervously and she wondered what happened to the calm, confident Queen she used to be.

__'____It was all a rouse, a disguise to cover up all my fears &amp; insecurities... The only time I truly felt like it for real was that night on the North Mountain, ____when____ I thought I could let it go. Look how well that turned out.____'__

"Um, I'm sorry for intruding, but is it okay if we stay here for a little while? I don't wanna be rude, if you don't want to that's okay, Toothless &amp; I will find another place. It's just for a few hours obviously—neither of us are in any condition travel, that's all. I mean, no pressure! I don't wanna guilt trip or anything! It's totally okay if you don't want us!"

He rambled quite a bit, like Anna used to do whenever she was nervous and Elsa couldn't bring herself to turn this man away.

"Yes, that's fine." She said, feeling a little more at ease. Taking another step closer, she added, "You &amp; your friend are more than welcome to rest here."

"Oh wow, that's so great! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed and even though she was closer, Elsa still couldn't make his appearance. "I don't have a lot in the way of currency, but if there's anything I can do to repay you let me know!"

"It's fine. I don't need anything," she replied. "But thank you for the offer."

A snort was made &amp; a warble followed and the strange man spoke. "Oh sorry, Bud! Yes, we can stay."

More noises could be heard and Elsa could feel her heart picking up again.

"You big baby!" the man teased, opening the door further to welcome in his companion. "Now, play nice."

__'____It c____a____n't be...!____'__

She watched with her very own eyes as the dragon she had just encountered entered her domain, and she could only watch in horror as its eyes went from wide &amp; docile, into the narrow into slits of a fierce predator.

A growl suddenly erupted from the dragon and it charged forward. Elsa let out a cry.

God did not exist, she decided at that moment, because the creature whom she had prayed to Him to protect her from, had found her and it was ready to finish her off.

* * *

_Author's note: And that's the end of that Chapter. Dun, dun, dun! Again I would like to thank everyone whose reviewed thus far - you like me, really, really like me! So thank you, it makes it all worth it. Another thank you to **TheWritingFactory** for once again proof reading and giving me valuable feedback - and helping me make this chapter a bit more epic ;-)_

_Now I'm sure I've sparked some controversy over Elsa's beliefs on God and I hope that no one has been offended. However, for Elsa at this point, whose endured so much and who has so little hope at this point, of course she would doubt God's existence._

_**ForteEXEMaster** brought up a good point about most Hiccelsa fanfics Astrid always seems to be killed off. I know, I know, I'm very guilty of this - however, I'd like to think that I was the first to do it in a very unique way. As horribly morbid as that sounds... Anyway, for me having Astrid alive would mean this story wouldn't exist at all. Hiccup loves her &amp; Astrid vice-versa and I couldn't imagine them ever breaking up - it just doesn't seem plausible. Which is ironic considering Astrid doesn't even exist in the book series, but I'd rather not dwell on it all too much._

_I hope everyone liked this chapter and the next one should be out soon (if it actually comes to an end...) but be warned there might be a few curse words._

_Until next time everyone._


	4. I don't think I deserve it-selflessness

_What would it take for things to be quiet?_  
_Quiet, like the snow._  
_I know this isn't much but, I know I could I could be better._  
_I don't think I deserve it; selflessness _  
_Find your way into my heart._  
_All stars could be brighter._  
_All hearts could be warmer._

\- The Devil wears Prada

* * *

"Toothless? Hey what's wrong, Bud?"

Hiccup immediately knew something was wrong the moment his friend stepped into the bizarre cave. Okay, maybe the fact that its walls were glowing a sinister red should've set alarm bells of in his head, but he's always had a terrible habit of being oblivious to the danger he had always thrown himself into.

The Torch incident is proof of that—here he thought he had found a harmless little dragon and foolishly decided to bring it back to his village when in fact, it was a baby dragon and Mama Typhoomerang wasn't very impressed, and she would've destroyed the entire island just to find her offspring.

Heather was another fine example—he had been so quick to trust the dark-haired teen and she managed to get her hands on the Dragon book without rousing any suspicion __(with the exception of Astrid, of course...)__ Then there was Melvin; Hiccup had been so gullible to believe the old man's act and his false apology.

__'____And look how well that turned out!____' __He thought chastising himself. _'_Alvin learned the secrets of dragon training. Astrid always did say that I was too quick to trust people.____'__

Even still, he shouldn't be reacting like this to someone he's only just met. Especially to someone who had been kind enough to let two strangers into their home during the middle of the night!

"Toothless! Stop!" he muttered as he kept alongside to the winged reptile, feeling completely mortified.

He watched the black dragon growl menacingly towards their host, who surprisingly, was still concealed by shadow, despite the bright red glow emanating through the cave. His teeth poised &amp; sharp whilst his eyes were dilated to the fearsome predator that had earned him the title of Alpha. The Chief should've been concerned for their welfare, after all, dragons were an excellent judge of character and if this was the type of reaction Toothless was having, Hiccup should be heeding his friend's warning and take their chances with the blizzard.

However, all the rider could think of at that moment was all the other times he had been embarrassed by his dragon's behaviour and he decided that this... __this __had to take the prize.

And that was saying a lot.

The Night Fury didn't listen to his order. Instead, he continued growling as he prowled towards the poor woman, who would no doubt at that moment be second guessing her generous offer. The storm outside raged on and Hiccup could feel the full force pelt against his back, making him stagger a little. This seemed to push Toothless over the edge, because he roared and leap forward.

The woman gave a loud cry.

"TOOTHLESS NO!"

Then all of a sudden—completely out of nowhere—spikes appeared!

Toothless halted, barely missing them with an inch of his life, before lifting his tail &amp; holding it in front of Hiccup, acting as a protective shield and started hissing vehemently at the dangerous barrier. The rider stood there stunned.

"...what?" he breathed out, stepping closer despite himself.

A gasp could be heard and then; "P-please! Just stay away!"

But he ignored the warning and continued forward, too focused on the strange sight. He should've been worried. __Should've__ being the key word and yet, he wasn't. It all just seemed way, way too bizarre to be. They were hundreds &amp; thousands of them, each looking deadlier than the other. He also noticed that they were all pointing from out of the ground, even though there had been no sign of them a minute ago. Not only that, but they were all angled in a crescent formation, as if protecting something...

An image of Eret's destroyed base flashed through his mind and he reached out his hand. He touched the side of one of the spikes and his suspicions were confirmed.

__'____Ice!____' __He thought pulling back his hand, completely amazed. _'___It's actually ice!____'__

"How is that even possible...?"

He could hear something creaking &amp; groaning. Looking up, he saw the ceiling becoming darker in hue, cracks forming and then to his astonishment, spikes started blossoming and then suddenly it clicked.

"You can control ice?!" he exclaimed, amazed by the revelation. He didn't know how he knew—he just __knew__. He had never heard of such a thing before, but considering dragons existed, it couldn't be too much of a stretch to believe magic existed as well.

__'____That ____must ____be ____why ____Toothless ____attacked ____so ____vehemently___—___he ____must've ____been ____able____ to ____sense ____it!____' __The Chief realised._ '_Still, being able to control an element that can't be controlled naturally... That's a powerful ability. Just who is this woman?____'__

"Please just go!" the woman exclaimed shakily and Hiccup snapped back to reality. "You __have__ to go!"

"W-wait, hold on!" Leaning over the spikes without getting pierced __(the perks of having armour made from discarded Night Fury scales)__, he tried to get a closer view of the mysterious maiden, who was still immersed in the shadows. He couldn't make out much due to the poor lighting, but she seemed huddled, clearly frightened. "Don't be afraid! I'm really, really, __really__ sorry about my dragon's behaviour. He tends to be very overprotective when it comes to new people."

As if on cue, the dragon growled again.

"Toothless, cut it out!" he hissed, all too aware that his friend was not making the situation any better. Pointing to the entrance, he added, "Go on, over there."

The Night Fury snorted before turning and followed the rider's order. Once there, he opened his mouth and set fire to the ground much to his rider's annoyance, before he collapsed onto the ground. He continued to glower in the woman's direction, but thankfully said nothing further.

"Useless, volatile lizard..." He muttered, making a mental note to remind his friend on the importance of manners &amp; being a good guest. Turning back, he apologised once again. "Ah, I'm sorry about that too. He does that all the time at home when he wants to rest. I can fix that, I think—although I guess I'd pretty useless if it's made out of ice. You'd probably be able to fix it without needing any of my help."

She said nothing in response and Hiccup knew he would need to keep talking __(without sounding like a complete fool) __to make things right. He __had__ to. It wasn't simply because they needed a place to stay—they had survived blizzards before, even though it had always been with other dragons nearby, however they survived nonetheless—but rather that he had always prided himself on being able to reconcile people with dragons and the idea of walking away after leaving such an awful impression tugged on his heartstrings. Hard.

He'd rather lose another foot than do that.

"I'm really sorry..." He said again calmer, clearer. "I know that he may seem really terrifying, but he won't hurt you. He's really quite harmless."

"Harmless? I think not!" She said, disbelief clearly evident in her voice. The rider noted, with some interest, that the light of the cave was somewhat brighter—a more vivid red, as if reflecting anger or indignation. "That... that __thing __chased me down when I went down to the lake tonight and then shot fire at me! So don't you tell me he's __harmless__!"

"Down at the lake...?" he asked surprised. Well that explained why he had rushed out of the tent all of a sudden. The Night Fury must've caught her scent, and thinking she was an intruder, retaliated.

__'____Wait, did she say "chase"...? And "fire"? Oh boy...____'__

"Oh no, he went after you?" Another wave of embarrassment flooded through him and he desperately wished the earth would split open &amp; swallow him whole so he would no longer have to endure this humiliation. "Oh Gods, oh Gods—I'm so sorry! I know you must be sick of hearing that now-"

__'____Get to the point, Hiccup. No doubt, she's tired of your incessant rambling.____'__

As Chief &amp; Tamer, he needed to accept the responsibilities of his dragon and suffer the consequences as a result—he had accepted those conditions at fifteen and he would accept them now.

"I apologise for his behaviour." He spoke, this time with more clarity, behaving more like the Chief his people looked to. "I know that my words don't mean much compared to what you've endured tonight, but believe me when I say that he truly meant no harm..."

For hundreds of years people from the archipelago had considered them nothing more than wild &amp; vicious beasts who needed to be eliminated for the sake of survival. Tonight, this woman had been terrorised and been given every reason to fear the ancient creatures. If he left now, she would be forced to believe everything she might have ever heard to be true.

__"You have the heart of a Chief and a soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together."__

Valka told him that once and he knew it was true so he __had__ to make this right. He needed to show the world that dragons were good, kind creatures—it was his destiny, as silly as it sounded—and if he could convince the stubborn, tenacious people of Berk, then he could certainly convince this woman.

"Where we come from there are still people who believe that dragons are nothing more than mindless bloodthirsty creatures. Instead of trying to make peace with them, they insist that extermination is the only way. People are afraid of things they don't understand and hence, fear them. I know he hasn't left you with the best impression, but if you let me, I can show you that there's nothing to be afraid of."

He couldn't ignore the irony of it all. Here he was trying to convince a woman who could manipulate ice __(and ____create____ very sharp &amp; pointy objects hazardous to one's state) __not to be afraid when in reality, perhaps he should be the one who was afraid.

"I-I don't think that's such a good idea." She finally replied, sounding very uneasy. "He doesn't look like he's all too interested in a reconciliation."

"Toothless will not attack as long as you're not a threat to me or him." He responded calmly, hoping to soothe the maiden's shot nerves. "I know it's a lot to ask, but you have to trust me." Holding out his hand, he added, "Please."

"How can you ask me to trust you when I don't even know your name?" She asked uncertainly. "Or haven't even seen your face?"

__'____My face...?____' __He wondered, before he remembered much to his embarrassment, that he was still wearing his rider's mask! No wonder why, she kept her distance. If some random person walked into your home during the middle night, had their pet dragon attack you whilst they wore some scary mask—you certainly wouldn't be so easy to trust said random person. Well, at least that could be remedied quickly.

"Oh jeez! Of course, how rude of me!" Pulling the helmet off his head, he ruffled his hair a little and hoped he looked presentable enough as he officially introduced himself. "My name is Hiccup. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third—Chief of Berk."

A silence followed, yet he wasn't bothered by it. Instead he waited patiently, knowing that the woman would eventually approach. Another moment passed when finally the maiden stepped out of the shadows of the cave and revealed herself.

Hiccup took sharp exhale and stared dumbstruck.

__'____She's gorgeous!____'__

He certainly hadn't expected that. Not to be rude or anything, he just thought she was a lot older. Her voice was soft and she was very well spoken for a person of her age—so it was quite a surprise to see someone who looked like they were barely in adulthood. He had expected to see a woman in her thirties to mid-forties, who was well built &amp; rugged like the women he'd grown accustomed to in his life on Berk. And yet, here before him stood a fair young maiden in a slimming black dress &amp; with big doe eyes.

"Wow..." He breathed out, before shaking any stupid thoughts buzzing in his head. Scratching the back of his head, he said awkwardly, "So uh, nice to meet you?"

The fair woman clutched her braid with both hands, wet her lips, took a deep breath and finally introduced herself.

"My name is Elsa." She spoke calmly. "Elsa of- just Elsa."

Hiccup's curiosity piqued and yet knew it was not his business to dwell.

"Elsa, huh? I never heard of it before—it's weird." Seeing her raise an eyebrow, he backtracked. "I didn't mean that your name's weird! I just meant that it's weird I've never actually heard that name before. It's a very pretty name! Much nicer compared to some of the other names I've heard across these lands. What's its origin?"

A look of panic flashed across her face and he quickly added; "I guess it really doesn't matter!"

She relaxed a little before she said in a tight voice, "No. It doesn't."

He couldn't help from noticing just how painfully sad she looked and he felt rotten for bringing it up at all—which seemed so preposterous. Back on Berk, a person would simply punch the person who offended them and then quickly move on, however, Elsa didn't seem like the type to react with violence. He had no doubt that she was not a Viking and he couldn't help from being interested.

A warble echoed through the cave and broke the uncomfortable silence between the two humans, something Hiccup found himself extremely grateful for.

__'____Thanks Bud,____' __he thought in gratitude as he turned his head to Toothless' direction._ '_But that still doesn't let you off the hook.____'__

As if reading his mind, the Night Fury let out a whine. He looked incredibly uneasy, clearly on edge about this whole situation, as much as Elsa, and Hiccup knew it was time to play peace-keeper.

"Alright you big baby, we're coming over." The tamer said, before directing his attention back to the young woman. "Just follow my lead, I promise you he won't hurt you. Now about the ice..." Looking down to the hazardous spikes separating them, he asked, "I don't suppose there's some sort of trick to put them back in place, like a lever perhaps?"

"No, there isn't. Do you mind turning around for a moment?" Elsa asked looking uncomfortable, so the Chief obeyed her request. He heard a soft swishing sound and could've sworn he felt the ground move somewhat, but kept quiet.

"You can turn back now."

He did so and finally got a good look at the mysterious maiden. She was taller than he originally thought; her head would reach almost up to his chin which was saying a lot considering he grew a few more inches after his coronation. Of course nowhere as impressive as his father's stature, but a lot better compared to the scrawny runt he used to be. However, he also noticed she seemed very skinny, unhealthily so, and briefly glancing down, he noticed that she had a nasty looking cut running alongside her exposed calf.

__'____What on earth has this woman gone through?____'__

"Are you ready?" he asked as they approached the weary dragon.

"I suppose I don't really have much of a choice, now do I?" She responded, trying to keep her cool composure.

"It'll be fine, I promise."

However, Toothless didn't seem all too keen on a reconciliation as Elsa mentioned, and rose slightly; preparing himself to bolt, much to his rider's dismay. Hiccup tried to ignore the feeling and formally introduce the Night Fury.

"Elsa, this is Toothless. Alpha to the Berkian dragons and my best friend." Placing a comforting hand on the back of his dragon, he said, "Toothless, this is Elsa, the poor soul you decided to destroy our tent for and chase her down. Now, __be nice__."

The dragon looked on, distrust apparent in his current cat-like eyes, but fortunately, didn't growl this time. Encouraged, he turned back to Elsa; "Now just stretch out your hand and let him touch it, without making any eye contact."

"… what? You must be joking!" She clearly looked put off by the idea, whilst Toothless growled lowly, offended by her reaction.

__'____Oh boy, this is going to be tougher than I thought.____' __Hiccup pondered, suppressing a sigh. This wasn't the first time he'd had difficulty introducing people to dragons; children are easy, being open-minded and more carefree whilst the adults are more begrudging, having been accustomed to dragon raids their entire life and while forced to watch friends &amp; loved ones being slaughtered in front of their eyes.

However, this was the first time he introduced a dragon to someone who could manipulate ice.

"It's the only way you can gain his trust," he replied. "Up until this point, Toothless has reacted on his instincts. He's in a land he doesn't know, a stranger approaches his territory whilst his defenceless friend is sleeping, a sudden a bizarre storm shows up and he stumbles upon the same person he encountered before. I'm not trying to be rude—all I'm trying to say is he's scared."

"Him? Scared?" she asked, obviously in disbelief. "I don't see why—he's a dragon. He's strong and fast. He's __powerful__."

__'____So are you and look at how terrified you are...____' __He wished to say his thoughts out loud, however, he was worried he might offend her.

"It doesn't mean he can't get scared too."

Elsa looked stunned and remained silent, taking his words and digesting them carefully. Loosening the grip on her braid, she stretched out one trembling hand, bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut. Toothless was reluctant to respond, much to his rider's dismay and because of the response, Elsa lost all her courage and pulled back.

"No, I'm sorry. I just can't do it." She apologised and wrapped her arms around her torso, looking vulnerable &amp; disheartened.

Hiccup sighed, disappointed, but not the least bit surprised. These things took time and if there was too much fear or distrust on both sides, reconciliation would not be possible any time soon.

"I understand." And he did, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Just then an a gust of wind flew into the cave, reminding the rider that he left the entrance open.

"Oh damn!" he cursed, annoyed with himself for forgetting such a thing. So much for being a good guest tonight. "I'm sorry, I left the doors open! I'll close them up."

The doors were incredibly heavy with being made out of such thick ice and the wind blowing against them. Fortunately, Toothless noticed his companion's struggle. Jumping over to the entrance, he got on his hind legs and applied all his weight against one of the doors whilst Hiccup focused on the other; then after a few seconds the doors finally shut close.

"So... what do we do now?" Elsa asked after a moment and a wave of awkwardness followed.

That was a good question. With the whole situation now somewhat under control, Hiccup was left pondering over his next move. He could hear the wind blowing hard, yet it was nowhere near as fierce as before. He had noticed that it was next to impossible to see anything past the flurrying snow. The blizzard might be calming, however, it would be careless to go outside now.

"Well there's nothing much to do, except sit &amp; wait. Although you must be pretty exhausted, you'd probably want to go to bed right?"

Though even if Elsa went to bed, Hiccup would probably stay up and tend to his injuries. With all the excitement and adrenaline flowing through his veins, he had forgotten that he had collided against the doors outside—already his shoulder was beginning to ache and he could only hope it wasn't dislocated. Not to mention, he had to check Toothless and make sure he was capable of flying them back to Berk.

"No, I don't think I can after all this... __excitement__." She replied, carefully choosing her words. "But you're both more than welcome to slumber if you wish."

"No, I'm fine. I think I'd rather just stay up, although I have to admit, it's getting a bit cold. Is it possible to make a fire?"

For some reason, she looked embarrassed. "I don't have any of the tools and I don't actually know __how__ to."

"Are you serious?" He asked, looking at her in disbelief. Although he was accustomed to these temperatures, even he had to admit he was cold. How could this woman who was wearing such a thin looking dress with a slit to her knee &amp; no shoes survive such climate? Still, he had seen a lot weirder things tonight and he knew it was better not to dwell on it too much. "It doesn't matter, I'm sure I could find something."

Walking over to Toothless, he started stripping the dragon of their knapsacks &amp; his saddle, much to the Night Fury's relief. Hiccup started rummaging through the knapsacks and pulled out a vile of flammable liquid; something he would use whenever had difficulty starting a camp fire. He also pulled out his sleeping blanket and headed over to the woman again, who was still standing in her spot.

"Here." He said offering the blanket. "It's not a lot, but you look like you need it more than I do."

Elsa looked at the object, clearly surprised by the man's generosity. "Why...?"

"We've really gotten off to a bad start and I feel like a real jerk for letting it this all happen. I'm a Chief and he's a leader—we're supposed to set an example. So I'm sorry."

"Thank you for the offer, but it's unnecessary. The cold never bothered me anyway."

"That might be so," Hiccup started thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean you should have to put up with it."

Elsa looked touched, as if she had never heard such kindness before and he wondered what kind of life she led before living here. She slowly reached out for the blanket, unsure if she should be taking his offer, until finally she pulled it out of his hand and carefully wrapped it around her thin frame.

"Thank you." She mumbled sheepishly and smiled ever so slightly. It was vague &amp; fleeting, yet it was enough for him to smile back and mentally applaud himself on at least doing one thing right tonight.

"It's no biggie. Now about that fire... we'll need some sort of fire pit."

"Allow me." She offered, and with a wave of her hand, the ground below them split and cracked open, revealing a round patch of dirt with the ice which had been there previously forming around it to created a barrier of sorts. "Big enough?"

"Plenty," he replied with a warm smile. Turning back to his dragon, he asked; "Do you wanna do the honours?"

The Night Fury opened his mouth and a fireball shot to the ground. Steam rose from the impact, but no fire. Hiccup knelt to the ground and ripped some pages out of his sketchbook which was strapped to his arm, doused them in the flammable liquid and threw them into the pit. This prompted the dragon to repeat this action and within seconds, the fire came to life. Brightening up the cave and warming the tired Chief.

Hiccup walked back back to the knapsacks and started rummaging through the provisions, grabbing his first aid kit and much to his delight, a bottle of ale. He had been planning to have a drink or two around a campfire one night during the trip, but now, he had a strong feeling it would be gone by the morning.

As he returned, the rider was surprised to see two small stools beside the fire and Elsa already sitting on one of them. Based on their clarity, he immediately deducted that they were crafted by ice and he wanted to ask the fair maiden if they would be even able to withstand the heat. However, she was probably aware of its capabilities otherwise she wouldn't have bothered, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Thirsty?" he asked, offering his bottle. She probably wouldn't like the taste, but it would be rude not to offer.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, anyway."

In the light of the bonfire Hiccup could finally get a more vivid image of Elsa. The first thing he noticed was how beautiful she was and how it was very different to the type of beauty he was used to in his part of the world. It was foreign yet alluring and he knew the men in his village would no doubt be attracted and embarrass themselves _(___or worse case scenario, put their lives on the line___) _to court the fair maiden.

Her hair was very interesting too—it was incredibly light __(almost ____snow-____white!) __and it was woven in a simple braid, much different to the women at home, with a few strands loose &amp; flicked-back, as if windswept. Her eyes were lovely, although it was hard to make out the colour from the dark lighting,__ (if he had to put money on it, he'd say they were blue) __and yet, they held a dark look. It was something he could relate to, something he'd notice in his own whenever he'd catch a glimpse of himself from a reflective surface...

It was a look of someone in mourning.

It was uncomfortable and he wondered how the others back at home could bear watching their Chief with that expression. Then again, they'd all lost someone important in their life—the life of a Viking, an occupational hazard—he wasn't selfish enough to believe he was the only one suffering.

"Nice place." He offered, hoping that it would enough to remove the unpleasant thoughts lingering through his over active mind. "You live here all by yourself?"

__'____Really? That's the best you could come up with?____' __The rational side of his brain drawled sarcastically. _'_By Thor, even Tuffnut could offer a more intelligent conversation than you!____'__

It was kinda pathetic to think about it, but it was true. Hiccup knew he had gotten better much at social interactions, it was of the utmost importance as a leader, yet being here in this cave with this stunningly beautiful maiden with super awesome ice powers had left him feeling like that gawky teenager all over again.

__'____I guess some things never change.____'__

"That was a stupid question, sorry." He mumbled, wondering if he could make it to five minutes without making a fool of himself.

Toothless cooed and nuzzled his head against Hiccup's knee, jealous of the lack of attention. However, whatever chance he might have gained was quickly taken away when a small gasp could be heard. Turning his head to Elsa's direction, the Chief noticed her eyes directed on his prosthetic leg before she turned her head in the other direction, as if ashamed. It dawned upon him that she must've only just have noticed the difference.

"Oh that's okay. You can look it, I don't mind." He answered honestly, not at all offended by her curious gaze. "I lost it a long time ago and I forget that people might be affronted by the sight."

"It's impolite to stare," she replied uncomfortably. "My parents taught me to always be respectful of others and to treat them all as my equals. However, if you don't mind me asking—what happened?"

"Long story, believe it or not." The Chief chuckled, holding up the unopened bottle of ale in, he said, "Care for a drink? It's quite the tale."

She looked hesitant, before she flicked her wrist and managed to conjure a small cup made of ice. She then held it out to the rider as he finally opened the bottle. Pouring the liquid into the cup, Hiccup was mindful not to put too much in, just in case she didn't like the alcoholic beverage. He then took a large swig from the bottle and he could already feel himself becoming light-headed. Hopefully the maiden would be more mindful than him.

"Thank you." She spoke softly, managing to hold an air of poise.

"Careful, it's strong." He warned, however, it wasn't necessary. The maiden took a small sip to assess the ale, but showed no reaction of it affecting her.

"It's fine." She spoke hardly phased and his respect for her went up a notch. "You mentioned earlier that where you come from, there are people who wish to eradicate all dragons. Do this mean there is conflict in your land?"

"Yes and no. Where we come from is a place consisting of many islands, many different tribes and many different cultures—Berk is one of them. However, there are many that are still uncharted. Toothless &amp; I have explored many of them and have added them all to our map, but there are still more out there. In fact, we're actually on one as speak."

"Here?" She looked surprised, obviously she hadn't expected to hear that.

"Yeah, I know right? I mean, what are the odds of that happening?" He asked, before letting out an amused chuckle. "Anyway, so for several hundreds of years our people have been at war with the dragons. For Berk, it was particularly rough because we're a smaller province compared to the other tribes and suffered most of the dragons' rampage. They would raid our food supply and we would starve. And of course, being Vikings we tend to be rash &amp; pig-headed so it never occurred to us that peace might be possible."

"Vikings?!" Elsa interrupted, looking alarmed.

A chill swept into the room and he noticed the walls were flashing a vibrant red again. Toothless perked up, growling in disapproval, before Hiccup slid a hand underneath the Night Fury's chin &amp; started scratching. It worked, because the dragon immediately began purring, before deciding a snooze was in order.

Seeing that his friend had calmed, he continued, "I know what you're thinking—and I don't blame you. I've heard many awful stories about the other tribes and their cruelty, but please don't think we're all like that. There are many good Viking tribes out there who would never commit such atrocities against their fellow man. Sure my people are stubborn and very boar-headed, and some have a terrible sense of personal hygiene, but they're strong &amp; tenacious and they would never give up on what is right. I'm lucky to have them."

The maiden relaxed a little and the Chief noticed that while the room got warmer again, the glow of the cave shifted into a somewhat purplish hue. Hiccup wasn't sure what to make of it, however, he would have to assume it meant she was still distrustful of him—not that he would hold it against her. He kept talking, hoping to keep her distracted:

"Growing up was difficult, I wasn't like the other children. We were raised to fight dragons and to have a __"kill &amp; ask questions later" __mentality—while I struggled just to pick up a small axe. All my life I was called __"Hiccup the Useless" __and I had to endure the acknowledgement that I was bringing shame upon my father. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much trouble I got him into growing up, my mother disappeared years before—abducted by a dragon during a raid—and I know it was a strain for him to be both a father &amp; a Chief."

Even now it was so hard to believe that his father was gone. Growing up, Hiccup envisioned his dad was invincible &amp; impervious to all danger. It was foolish &amp; naive, but he looked up to his father and he forgot that, regardless of his strength or status—Stoick was still a human with a heart which would eventually stop beating and lungs that would stop breathing.

Both of which ironically, would've been crushed by the force of Toothless' blast.

__'____Stop,____' __he ordered his thoughts. _'_You know that he's suffering enough as it is without you agonising over it.____'__

Of course he would. It had been rocky at the beginning, but the former Chief &amp; the Night Fury formed a close bond and for it all to be taken away in a careless moment was unbelievably cruel.

"During one raid when I was fifteen, I shot down Toothless with one of my inventions and he lost a tail fin as a result." He continued his story, hoping to cease the painful musings—even for a short amount of time. "He landed in the woods not too far from my village; wounded &amp; defenceless. Because I was so young &amp; so eager for approval, I was ready to finish him off... but then, I looked into his eyes and I saw so much of myself in them, I just couldn't do it. I let him go and he jumped on top of me, I thought this was the end for me, but instead, he ran off."

Elsa listened closely, enthralled by the story, drinking in his every word and he was looking forward to seeing her reaction to the end.

"A few days later I went looking for him because I was curious. Our instructor, Gobber, told me that dragons would always go for the kill—I was at his mercy &amp; yet he chose to let me live. I found him in the cove and realised he couldn't fly because of what I had done. So I befriended him and managed to engineer a new tail fin for him. We started practising flying after that. It took a while and it wasn't easy, but I'm a pretty quick learner. Soon, I even learnt a few tricks on how to tame dragons and for the first time, I was noticed by my peers. People would approach me and actually __talk __to me. It was a good feeling. My dad at this point was away on another expedition trying to find the dragons' nest. He believed if we destroyed it, the dragons would leave us alone. One evening, Toothless took me there and we discovered the Red Death."

"Red Death?" She wondered, looking a little confused.

"The Red Death was a massive dragon that was controlling all the smaller ones in the nest—the Queen, you would say—and hence the reason why our village had been pillaged for so long. If the dragons didn't provide enough substance for the Queen, they would be eaten themselves."

Elsa looked positively sick and he couldn't help from noticing how the walls were now turning into a chartreuse shade.

"I know, it's not a very pleasant thought. I watched a Gronckle be devoured by the beast, it was like a tiny morsel for the creature. But you really didn't need to know that. So my dad returned and found out about my success, he also found out __how__ it came to be and it's safe to say he was pretty livid."

"How? If you don't mind me asking."

"I mentioned before that we were trained; when we reached a certain age we'd be sent to an arena where several dragons were being kept for training purposes—it was also a competition. Whoever did the best during the training and came out as the best pupil had the honour of slaying a dragon—a Monstrous Nightmare was selected &amp; I was chosen to kill it. By that point, I had realised that we were completely wrong about them and I refused to fight. Unfortunately, my dad freaked out, not that I could blame him. After all, watching your only son throw away his weapon and approach a dangerous creature without any sort of protection would send any parent into protection mode. He intervened, the dragon freaked out and Toothless, even though he was far away from the village, could sense I was in danger and rushed in. My village was stunned, my dad was furious and they imprisoned Toothless as a result."

"So how come he's here now?"

"My father &amp; I got into an argument and I told him that I had found the dragons nest and about the Red Death, which was really stupid because I then told him it was impossible to find the place without a dragon. Dad assembled his best warriors and took off, using Toothless as a guide. Fortunately, at that point one of my friends-" and he had to say _friends_, because he really didn't want to say Astrid's name or dwell into it any further. "Already knew about Toothless and had gathered all the other teens, who had been training at the time, to join me. I showed them how to befriend their dragons and showed them how to fly. We then followed after the adults, who at that time were already battling the fierce Red Death."

"Was it really that fearsome?" She asked, looking at him with curious eyes.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe it even if you saw it yourself. It was huge! I would almost say it was about the size of this mountain."

"This mountain isn't very big," she quipped with a thoughtful look. "But, I can see your point."

"Anyway, things were looking bad for them and it was a rough battle. I managed to find Toothless and my father set him free. Long story short, we managed to lure it up into the sky and we were able to destroy it by exploiting its weakness."

"Weakness?"

"Dragons aren't fire-proof on the inside. The Red Death was annihilated by a fireball down the throat and erupted into flames, and we fell. Toothless managed to protect me from the flames and broke my fall. I woke up a few days later to find out I lost my leg as a result, but it didn't really matter—I was just grateful to be alive."

"So what happened next?" The maiden asked, looking enraptured and he felt a swell of pride.

"When I woke up I found Toothless in my house and when I went outside with him, I saw the villagers getting along with the dragons. Now that the Red Death was gone the dragons didn't need to raid us any more and we found no need to slay them. So we learnt to co-exist with them. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, and it's taken many years of hard work, but I like to think that Berk is now at peace."

"Wow... that was quite the story." Elsa said looking impressed.

Of course there was much more to it, but it really didn't seem necessary at the moment. She didn't need to know all the details.

"Well what about you?" Hiccup started. "What's your story?"

She looked surprised, then nervous and she finished it off with discomfort. The rider wondered if he had been too forward to ask or too intrusive, but he couldn't help it. He was genuinely curious. After all, it's not everyday you meet an incredibly beautiful, young woman who's living in isolation and has super crazy ice powers.

"I was wrong." The woman said, rising gracefully from her seat. "I'm more tired than I realised. My apologies for cutting this so short."

He sighed, disappointed but not surprised. Just because he told her a bit about himself didn't automatically mean she had to return the favour.

"I can make a bed for you if you like," she continued. "Though it would be made out of ice and you would probably get cold..."

"It's fine," he said. "I think I'll just wait out the storm."

Elsa glanced over towards the closed doors and looked uneasy. Hiccup wanted to reassure her that the storm would eventually clear, however, she probably already knew that and whatever he would say would be a waste of words.

"… Alright," she said reluctantly, probably feeling like a terrible host. "If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

She removed the blanket off her body and was about to hand it over when Hiccup held his hands up. "It's fine, I don't need it."

"But it's cold, and I'm use to it," she protested.

"I'll be fine," he promised, wanting to assure the maiden. "I grew up where it snows nine months of the year &amp; hails the other three. So believe me when I say I'll be fine. Besides, think of it as a token of my gratitude."

"I haven't done anything worth being grateful for." She replied with a frown.

"Well that's for me to decide."

Elsa bit her lip and Hiccup hoped she would take his offer. She really needed it more than him.

His answer came a moment later when she pulled the blanket back to herself and said, "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it." And he meant that. This woman was shrouded in mystery, fear &amp; loneliness, and yet after all she had endured tonight because of them, was still willing to allow them to stay. She seemed to have so little and he was glad to give her __something__ to repay her kindness_._

"I'll see you in the morning then. Good night, Chief Hiccup."

"Good night, Lady Elsa."

The maiden blinked, having not expected to hear herself be addressed with that title, before giving a nod and retreated to the back of the cave. Hiccup watched her figure become smaller and be enshrouded in shadow, before turning his attention back to the fire.

__'____This has been a weird night.____' __He couldn't help from thinking, before taking another sip from his ale.

Well __that__ was an understatement, but he didn't know what else to think. He met someone who could manipulate ice—who would've thought that would be possible? Certainly not him. A hundred questions were running through his mind at that point; such as how old was she? What else could she do? Where's her village? Did she have family? Could they conjure ice too?

__'____But more importantly,____' __he wondered. _'___Why is she here?____'__

All good questions with no hope of receiving answers to. At least, not any time soon.

Toothless cooed softly, slowly emerging from his slumber. Green eyes were revealed and he warbled a little before lifting his wing as an invitation to join him. Seeing the small gesture, the Chief couldn't help but be grateful to have the Night Fury in his life. Even after all the hardships they'd endured together, it had only helped to strengthen their bond and Hiccup couldn't imagine it being any other way. He could only hope it would continue that way until the day he died.

As he settled down beside the warm dragon, the Viking knew his shoulder would be killing him in the morning, however, he didn't care at that point. All the excitement had gotten to him and the ale only relaxed him even further—all he wanted now was to fall asleep and get the rest of his ten hours in.

"Good night, Bud." He mumbled and he noted with great interest just before Toothless covered him with his wing and he was encased in darkness, that the cave was now glowing a brilliant bright blue.

__'____Beautiful...____' __Was the only word he describe it before he drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

_Author's Note: Another chapter done and dusted. Way to go me! So what did everyone think? Liked it? Hated it? Please let me know what you think and post a review. I want to thank everyone who reviewed for the last chapter, even though it wasn't as many as the previous chapters, I'm still grateful towards those who took the time to put in feedback. Although in saying that, I do wonder what everyone thought... If you could review, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise, I feel like I'm doing a terrible job - as silly as it may seem._

_Thank you to all those who've R&amp;R and Favourited - they make my day._

_Until next time._


	5. I've been waiting for the sun

__I am outside and I've been waiting for the sun___  
___With my wide eyes____—____I've seen worlds that don't belong___  
___My mouth is dry with words I cannot ____verbalise___  
___Tell me why we live like this?___  
___Keep me safe inside___  
___Your arms like towers___  
___Tower over me, yeah___  
___'Cause we are broken___  
___What must we do to restore____—____our innocence___  
___And oh, the promise we adored?___  
___Give us life again___  
___'Cause we just ____'____wanna be whole__

\- Paramore

* * *

__Everything had gone slow as the dragon lunged towards her; its eyes were demonic &amp; its claws sharp and eager, and Elsa saw her life flash before her eyes. It was horribly cliché____ and watching it made her only realise how much had been wasted.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Anna, I never should have ignored you!**_**__**_**' **_**___She thought mournfully. __**__'__**_**_**I should've opened the door and spent more time being your sister! Or **_**_**__**I should've **__**_**_**at least held your hand at Mother &amp; Father's funeral, instead of letting you face it all on your own...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__She had so many regrets, but that didn't matter. Anna was dead now and soon she ____would____ be too.__

__She screwed her eyes shut, too afraid to look. A yell echoed through the cave and she opened them to find that she had created an ice barrier like the one before at her coronation. However, that was not what had her full attention.__

__What had her attention in that moment was the young man with kind green eyes, currently impaled by one of the spikes and the blood dripping along it.__

__"W-why?" He choked out, blood dripping from his mouth. He looked so young, so sweet, so innocent____—____Anna flashed through her mind and Elsa felt sick.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Oh Lord, what have I done?**_**__**_**' **_**___She thought, looking on in horror. Fear flooded her entire being; not for herself, but for her poor victim. __**__'__**_**_**Nonononononono! This wasn't supposed to happen! That's why I came here! So no one could ever be harmed again!**_**__**_**'**_**_

__Was this her fate? Was she destined to continuously bring death &amp; despair to everyone who may ____ever____ cross her path?__

__Unfortunately, her ice corresponded to her distress because the ice spikes started growing taller and thicker, lifting the man high off the ground. A sickening crack could be heard and he screamed. More blood started flowing and the former Queen realised the spike was widening inside the man's chest____—____causing him nothing but agony.__

__"Stop! Please make it stop!" he cried out and Elsa felt tears running down her cheeks.__

__She was killing him! Why hasn't God struck her down already?! Why was he allowing this to happen to this poor unfortunate soul? Why?!__

__The dragon let out a howl of distress, rushing over to his master's side____—____clearly traumatised, but there was no point. The man was already dead.__

__"NO!" she screamed and fell to the ground.__

__Another gone, because of her. She truly was a murderer... a monster.__

__The creature roared like nothing she had never heard before and charged over to her. It opened its mouth and a purple fireball escaped; blasting the entire barrier apart. Ice shattered everywhere and a couple shards managed to hit her, leaving nasty cuts against her fair skin. Blood started to seep from the wounds and pain flooded through her, and yet, she remained ____unphased.__

__Even her subconscious didn't have the willpower to activate another barrier. She didn't care. She deserved everything coming to her.__

__The dragon bared its ferocious teeth and Elsa braced herself.__

* * *

Elsa released a gasp and snapped her eyes open. Her form trembled and her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it would explode at any given moment.

__'____It was just a dream.____' __Her mind reassured her and she let out a shaky exhale._ '_An awful dream.____'__

She laid there for a few minutes, focusing on regaining her breathing before she noticed something was off. Usually when she would have nightmares she would awake to find herself cold, sweaty &amp; shivering—and yet, she wasn't this time. A frown marred her features as she tried to think why she wasn't and it was only when she moved upright &amp; felt something heavy shift off her chest did Elsa look down as realised the culprit responsible was a woollen blanket.

__'____What on earth?____' __She pondered, running a hand along it before her memory kicked in. '__Chief Hiccup gave this to me.____'__

__"Thank you for the offer," __she remembered saying as he held the object out to her last night. _"___But it's unnecessary. The cold never bothered me anyway."__

__"That might be so," __he replied back_. ___"But that doesn't mean you should have to put up with it."__

It was silly how much the small gesture meant to her, but she couldn't help it. Even though he had witnessed her ability, he did not tremble nor did he give any indication of fear. She had expected him at least to call her a monster, and yet, he didn't. He was kind &amp; thoughtful and the last person who had been that considerate towards her had been Prince Hans.

__'____And ____look ____at ____how ____you ____repaid ____him___... ___You ____froze ____his ____fiancée's ____heart ____and ____condemned ____him ____to ____a ____frozen ____wasteland___.__'_

She wondered how the Prince was doing and hoped that he was okay. However, since no one would be able to cross the fjord, thousands of people were starving, and with their limited resources—chances of survival would be incredibly slim. A stab of remorse flooded through the woman at the idea and she couldn't help from thinking about her beloved kingdom &amp; its kind people and how they would all be suffering for her mistakes. She could only begin to imagine the shame she would have bestowed upon her parents if they were still alive.

__'____Would they still have done things the same way if they knew how it all would've turned out? Would I have even been born?____'__

It was an unpleasant question, but an important one. If Elsa hadn't been born, would her abilities have been transferred into Anna? She hated the idea of her sister enduring the same fate as her, and for one brief second, the former Queen was relieved she had been the cursed one. Even though she had faced many hardships and hated her powers, if it had been a choice between her &amp; Anna, Elsa would gladly accept the burden.

There was anything she wouldn't have done for her baby sister.

__'____All except, talk to her...____'__

She regretted that, but she had honestly believed it was for the best. Ever since the first accident, all Elsa had ever wanted was to keep Anna safe &amp; sound. Unfortunately, easier said than done when the young Princess of Arendelle was fearless and was always prone to throwing herself into crazy __(and Heaven forbid, dangerous)__ situations.

Ironic really.

For her whole life, Elsa had allowed herself to be shrouded in fear &amp; insecurities whilst Anna went through her everyday life without a single care. She truly was a complete opposite in every way, shape or form. But in the end, that was what made Elsa love her even more. Because she was warm and daring and not at all afraid to take on the world for what she believed she was right. Anna was the sunshine peering through her window everyday. However, Elsa couldn't go over to the windowsill and bask in the warmth.

Last time she did that she froze the entire ledge. That was the same day Father made her put on the gloves.

__'____Oh Papa, I'm so sorry.____' __She thought, hoping her message would get to her father, wherever he may be. _'___You tried so hard to help me keep my powers in check____—____and look at how I've failed. I'm sorry, Papa, I couldn't be the great ruler like you or a good daughter. I wanted to be someone you could be proud of, but it's not possible. I'm ____so____ sorry...____'__

She could feel her eyes beginning to sting and she knew she needed to get out of here to get her emotions in check before her guests noticed her distress. She lifted herself out of her bed and picked up the blanket, only to notice it was somewhat damp.

__'____I suppose I should air it out,____' __she decided. _'_Although, I don't even know if the sun is out yet.____'__

It didn't matter, Elsa needed to get outside and shake off the bad feelings. Even though she was content to do it any other time, she had company and the regal side of her refused the idea of appearing pathetic in front of another soul, __especially __a leader.

__'____Berk, I've never heard of that land before? I wonder what ____its____ location ____is____?____' __The former Queen had solely focused on her neighbouring countries due to trading, and her country had no interest in dealing with Vikings, but now she felt foolish. _'_Especially since they have dragons! What a powerful nation____—____a dangerous ally &amp; a terrifying enemy... ____t____alk about a diplomatic nightmare!____'__

Oh well, it didn't really matter to her. She wasn't a Queen any more. Just a woman living out the rest of her days in isolation. Well, had been...

__'____I'll have to leave,____' __she thought. _'_It's too much of a risk to remain here. If Chief Hiccup knew who I was he might feel compelled to hold me hostage or decide to invade Arendelle. Who knows what sort of chaos would ensue?____'__

Even though they were rational possibilities, Elsa felt a horrible stab of guilt in her chest. The young Chief had been nothing but courteous &amp; gracious since his arrival and had done everything in his power to make amends for his dragon's behaviour. He seemed genuine when he promised her that no harm would come to her, and she really wanted to believe him. However, a pair of green reptilian eyes flashed through her mind and she had to suppressed a shiver.

Toothless __(such a peculiar name!)__ was a frightening creature—for her, he promised death &amp; misery—she felt as though he could see into her very own soul, and it frightened her so. After all, it was blatantly obvious as to why he chased her down in the forest and was prepared to finish her off once it realised she was there. He __knew__. He knew of the danger she posed to both himself &amp; his master. He obviously had a good sense of character and she was more than looking forward to seeing his departure.

__'____Hopefully Chief Hiccup caught some sleep.____' __She thought as she walked around the room divider she conjured the night before. As she carefully tiptoed towards the dying bonfire as both curiosity &amp; alarm flooded through her as she noticed the Viking was nowhere in sight! Toothless was still there, however, it nothing to ease her nerves. _'___Where did he go?____'__

It seemed that dragons could read minds too, although it was more likely that he caught her scent, because he raised his head up and glared at the woman, before growling lowly. His wings started to twitch and for a moment, Elsa worried that he might attack.

"It's okay." She tried to say calmly, although she sounded anything but. "I have no intention of harming you." Holding out the blanket, she continued, "I need to aerate your master's blanket-" The dragon raised a metaphorical eyebrow she noticed, as if she said something peculiar. "Do you know where he's gone?"

The creature lifted up its wing closest to the fire and revealed the young Chief, much to the woman's surprise. He appeared to be in a deep sleep and wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

"Oh." Was the only thing she could say, feeling a little foolish. The dragon closed its wing again and looked at her, she couldn't help but think that he was mocking her. "I'll be back in a little while and I'll see if I can find any food for both of you. Don't worry, I have no intention of bringing any harm to either of you."

She stared into the creatures eyes after saying that and prayed he could see her sincerity. It seemed to work because a moment later, he put his head back down to resume his slumber. Elsa let out a small sigh, grateful that it was easier than she had thought. She then quietly made her way to the entrance and with a flick of the wrist, the doors gently opened, causing next to no sound.

As she took a step outside, the former Queen blinked, trying to figure out if her eyes were playing a trick on her. Because much her surprise, she was greeted with a clear sky &amp; a beautiful sunrise—as if there had not been a blizzard the night prior. Usually when she was having nightmares, snowflakes would hang in the air as if time had frozen still, or the sky would remain grey &amp; cloudy for several days.

She definitely hadn't been expecting __this__.

__'____How can that be?____'__ She wondered, looking at the view in awe. There wasn't even a single cloud in the sky! It was a nice feeling, although she decided it was best if she didn't muse over it too much_. __'___It's not like it'll remain like this forever.____'__

Elsa turned her attention to the forest and decided that would be the best place to hang the blanket, so a few minutes later she was back on the ground again and wandering through the trees, trying to find the best place to air out the blanket, before deciding to go back to where the tent had been stationed. That turned out to be a good solution, because she found a particularly tall tree just by the lake where the blanket would receive plenty of air &amp; sunlight, but not run the risk of it being dragged along the ground or falling onto the frozen lake and getting damp again. With that done, Elsa decided to explore the forest to try and salvage some food for her guests. She hadn't been lying when she told Toothless that, however, the woman doubted she would find anything. This land had been covered with frost &amp; snow ever since she got there and she was amazed that she had managed to survive for so long on such a minuscule amount of food.

__'____You don't really need to guess why...____'__

No, she didn't. Her magic had always given her a higher tolerance to pain &amp; hunger compared to most humans—she could remember spending days after her parents' deaths starving herself and yet remaining unaffected, leaning against her door and sobbing. It was only because of Anna's pleas for Elsa to actually eat something that compelled the older woman to begin eating again. She could go on for a long time without the basic necessities, but she wasn't invincible. She knew she would die eventually—unfortunately it was just going to take a __really long time __before it actually happened.

"Only the good die young." Elsa muttered to herself as she crouched down to a bush, remembering she had found some berries from it only a few days ago. She had read that quote in a book once during one of her literature lessons and its remained in her head ever since. If that was true, would that mean she would live to a hundred? She certainly hoped not. She couldn't imagine enduring this life for another eighty years or so.

Suddenly as if reacting to her thoughts, a sharp pain slashed through her abdomen and her body keeled over, landing on her hands &amp; knees in the soft snow.

Then much to her horror, bile rose through her throat and escaped her mouth. Her body hacked as the vile substance pushed rushed out and tears formed in her eyes from the unpleasant sensation. It continued for a minute before finally, it ceased, however, not without draining her energy. Her cheeks were now flushed, her mouth tasted sour, her lungs were struggling for oxygen, her head felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer and she felt completely humiliated. She was only grateful no one had been there to witness it.

__'____Breathe, just breathe.____' __She commanded herself as she moved to the closest tree and leaned against the rough bark, willing the vertigo away. It took a while but she felt steadier and decided to open her eyes. Slowly opening them, she was greeted by the sight of bright yellow spot next to her and immediately knew that was not a good sign. _'___I guess I couldn't stomach that ale, after all.____'__

Elsa had struggled to drink the alcoholic beverage last night. The moment it touched her lips, she knew it was a terrible idea and oh how she desperately wanted to refuse to take another sip of the horrendous drink. However, Chief Hiccup had offered it to her as peace-keep and it would've been exceptionally rude to turn down his kind gesture.

Speaking of the Viking...

__'I wonder if he's awake?' __The young woman mused, knowing she would need to return to her cave soon. She looked down to assess herself and see if she looked presentable enough for the Chief, when she noticed her exposed leg and how the cut she had received last night was now looking very pink &amp; very sore. Reaching out to touch it with just her fingertips, Elsa winced and bit her lip, her suspicions were confirmed—infection. Marvellous.

__'____Not much I can do about it,____' __she thought as she slowly lifted herself. _'_I don't have any medical supplies, so I'll just have to fight it off. My foot doesn't ____really____ hurt ____that____ much____—____though that will probably need my attention...____'__

Although in saying that, Elsa was probably take going to ignore it and let nature take its course. If she got sick, she got sick, and if she died as a result... then one less problem to deal with. She didn't care any more, she was tired and lonely and without a trace of hope. She just wanted it to be all over.

__'____You should at least check on your guests before you do so,____' __her mind suggested. _'_And put something else on. Nothing looks more pathetic than a person wearing the same clothes they slept in.____'__

The former Queen couldn't agree more. With a wave of her hand, magic flowed out of her fingertips &amp; swirled around her frame. Within seconds a new outfit was created. This dress was much the first one she ever created except it covered her injured leg and was a sapphire blue. She would've preferred keeping it black, however, she didn't want to give Chief Hiccup the impression she was a witch or something. She also created a pair of shoes and encased her feet with them, not wanting to appear uncouth in front of the young leader.

Kneeling down to the snow, Elsa grabbed a handful of the stuff and put into her mouth. She waited for it to melt slightly before she started swishing in her mouth and spitting it out. She then grabbed another handful and threw into her mouth before swallowing. She repeated this a few more times until she felt somewhat fuller. It wasn't much, but better than nothing. She conjured a wave of snow and flushed it against her face, hoping it would freshen her up a little and crafted a hair brush, let her hair fall loose, brushed it and then re-braided it.

Feeling a little more presentable now, the woman then walked back to where she left the blanket, only to find it was still somewhat damp.

__'____I'll have to leave it out here a little longer,____' __she decided. '__It should dry by the time Chief Hiccup &amp; his dragon decide to leave.____'__

Hopefully, it would be soon. Then she could resume her life of solitude.

* * *

The first thing to go through Hiccup's head when he awoke that morning was that he really should've check his injuries last night, because his shoulder was killing him.

"Uhhh..."

Toothless, having heard his friend's groan, lifted his wing and cooed affectionately.

"Good morning to you too, Bud." He said as he jumped up. He started stretching and to his satisfaction, felt his joints crack, easing the built up tension. "Woo, that felt good! Alright now to find Lady Elsa."

"That won't be necessary."

Startled, the rider turned to the direction of the voice and saw the fair maiden standing by the entrance. She was wearing a new dress today, this time with no slit. He remembered the nasty cut he had seen on her leg the night before and he wondered if she had had it treated yet. Then again, it was none of his business and he should learn to keep his nose out of other people's affairs.

Still, he couldn't but think how striking the dark blue material looked against her pale complexion, before shaking the senseless thought out of his head and approaching her.

"Good morning, Lady Elsa."

"Good morning Chief Hiccup." She responded. "I see you managed to get some sleep. You didn't have to sleep on the floor, I could've made a bed for you and your... friend."

"Nah, it's okay. Toothless and I have travelled a lot so we're used to sleeping on all sorts of hard surfaces-" He started, however, his attention was quickly diverted to the background behind her. The storm had completely vanished, the sky was clear and the sunrise was absolutely stunning.

"Wow..." He breathed in awe and then remembered his sketchpad. Running back into the cave, Hiccup grabbed his other sketchpad, some spare charcoal and bolted back outside—completely ignoring the woman's calls. He then ripped open his notebook and started drawing like a madman. It was only when he felt the presence of others next to him did he snap out of it. Looking to his right he saw Toothless looking on with interest whilst to his left, he saw Elsa peering at his work, clearly interested.

"Oh sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away when I get excited." He apologised sheepishly and held the book out for her to get a better look, ignoring his dragon's warble of discontent. He had expected her to pull it out of his hands, but the woman had no intention, instead keeping her hands close to her chest he noticed.

"It's good. You've got quite the talent," she spoke sincerely. "How are you with colours?"

"Not very good," he admitted as he continued his sketch. "Paint is a luxury where I come from. Anything like that comes from a merchant by the name of Johann and we don't get to see him except once every couple of months. So in the meantime, we make-do with what we've got."

"Make do?" she parroted, looking confused. "Don't you do trade?"

"Yeah we trade with Johann. Weapons, tools, food—but that's as far as it goes."

"So you're saying you don't have any trading partners?"

"Trading partners?" Now it was his turn to mimic. Pausing his work, he turned to Elsa, interested with her strange words. "What are they?"

Her blue eyes widened, clearly stunned by his questions and he felt a little foolish for his ignorance on this subject. Was it a common practice?

"Well when a nation has an abundance of stock, we'll use wheat as an example, they'll swap it with another nation for something else that they might be lacking, like sugar." She explained sounding more like a wise old teacher than a young woman. "They then get together and make an agreement of how much each nation wants of said stock and will trade those items to one another on a regular basis. This is could continue for years depending on their success."

"Really?" Hiccup asked, intrigued with her explanation. Nations did that sort of thing?

"Of course, many countries depend on good trade. It boosts economy and feeds its people. No nation can go it alone." She answered with an air that almost seemed as a matter-of-fact. "How has Berk managed to survive for so long?"

"Our island is pretty self-sufficient. We've got sheep, yak, dragons, our main main food-source comes from the ocean and we even make our own tools &amp; weapons." He answered whilst the fair maiden listened on with fascination. "Granted the food might not be the best, but it's ours."

The quality of food had improved a substantial amount since the Red Death; before it was tasteless &amp; stale because of limited supply, but now, the villagers had a bit more variety to choose from, even with having extra mouths to feed.

"We're pretty lucky compared to the other islands, who I've heard resort to raids &amp; pillaging of other tribes. For us, that seems utterly barbaric and we try not to get involved with any conflict. It's hard, but if we intervene it's a flat-out declaration of war—and while there's no doubt that we would win—I refuse to get our dragons involved. They are our friends and companions—not tools of destruction."

Elsa's lips parted and her eyes brightened somewhat, as if impressed by his little speech. He wondered what he said exactly to evoke such an awed expression, but she already spoke, shedding light to his pondering.

"Spoken like a true leader." She said with a wry smile __(though he noticed it didn't reach her eyes)__ before giving him a nod of approval. "Your people are very lucky to have you as their Chief."

The rider chuckled, embarrassed by the earnest compliment; although he got the feeling that it was half-hearted, as if she was used to saying such pleasantries.

"I wouldn't go that far." He said modestly. "I've screwed up plenty of times and I've sometimes made decisions using my heart rather than my head..."

Like turning down countless marriage treaties from across the Archipelago and risk offending other tribes so he could marry the woman he loved.

"I'm just fortunate it's all worked out well in the end." He finished, giving the woman a humble smile, who responded in kind.

As he looked at her face, curiosity kicked in again and he couldn't help from pondering over where she came from. Considering he hadn't seen any sort of life-form around this area before meeting her, it was blatantly obvious she had not originated from here. That and the fact, she spoke of trading like it was a common practice, could speak his language fluently and was more civil than the majority of his people.

Just who was this woman?

__'____Was she banished?____' __He mused to himself. _'___Is she lost or did she come here of her own free will? ____I____f that's the case____—____then why? And how has she been able to survive so long?____'__

After her quick exit last night, the Chief knew that the fair maiden was reluctant to talk about herself. He would have to tread carefully if he wanted her to open up a little.

"What about you? Do you draw?" he asked, hoping that the question wasn't considered intrusive.

"No," Elsa replied with a shake of her head. "I'm better at sculpting."

"Oh?" Hiccup said interested. "With stone or wood?"

The woman gave him a funny look before she said; "No, just with ice."

"Oh right, of course!" He had already anticipated that would be her answer, however, he asked this to give himself an opportunity to ask Elsa more about her powers without being too obvious. "Do have any pieces you wouldn't mind showing? I would love to see them—not to be demanding, of course. It's just I've only seen you really make a fire pit and a cup—not really fascinating things..."

He instantly realised how rude that sounded and quickly backtracked, even Toothless seemed to agree because he heard the dragon snort out loud.

"Oh wait, that totally came out wrong! What I meant is I never met someone with such an ability before: it's truly amazing," he rambled, despite his common sense screaming at him to stop. "- And it seems like such a shame if I didn't see it at its full potential."

An awkward silence followed leaving Hiccup to dwell in his self-pity and he sorely wished one of his companions were here to break the ice, no pun intended. Even with their uncouth behaviour, at least the Chief would've been able to make better conversation.

__'____It feels like I'm fifteen all over again, before I met Toothless. When no one acknowledged me and I didn't know how to fit in...____'__

"You remind me of my sister, Anna." She spoke a moment later, breaking his depressing thoughts. A warm smile crept onto her face, this time reaching her blue eyes. This was the first he had actually seen her being genuine and he couldn't help from noticing how his heart had skipped a beat. She brought her hand down inbetween them and to his surprise, ice started sprouting from her fingertips and swirled in a blue haze before an ice statue was formed. It was small in hindsight, about the length of his lower arm, but what amazed him was the amount of detail the sculpture. It was of a pretty young girl who he would guess to be about seventeen or eighteen, with pigtails and adjourning foreign winter clothing. Anna, he naturally assumed, seemed to be in a running motion and yet had such a carefree smile, as if she ready to take on anything coming her way.

__'____So she does have family...____' __He thought, feeling a sense of accomplishment that he had already figured that part out; Elsa was so vague about herself it only spurred him even further to know more about the mysterious maiden. The Night Fury seemed fascinated as well, earlier distrust now gone because he moved in between the two humans and tilted his head upwards in interest before leaning in to sniff the statue.

"She tended to be awkward and a bit goofy," she continued whilst staring at the small statue. Her voice was filled with so much emotion, that the rider knew that her sister was dearly cherished. "But she was kind and always eager to meet new people."

The woman's smile slowly drifted away and replaced with a look of reflection. She turned her head in the other direction, completely obscuring her facial features and it made Hiccup wonder if something bad happened, hence why she was there now.

"I miss her."

The three small, simple words tugged at his heartstrings, _hard_. She sounded so melancholy and so defeated, it made him want to offer some words of comfort, or at least ask her if there was anything he could do to help. Looking back to the ice sculpture, Hiccup wondered what had happened to Anna. Had she died? That would explain why Elsa carried such a dark look in her eyes. However, as much as he wanted to comfort the fair maiden, Hiccup knew he should not get involved unless she asked, which seemed to be very unlikely. Which was a shame because the Chief had always felt it was his duty to look out for and aid as many people as possible—not only for his own people, but for everyone he ever crossed paths with. It's a dangerous personality trait and could easily be exploited by any deviant if given the chance. Yet, he would never change that part of him.

There was too much tragedy in the world and he'd be damned if he contributed to it.

Even Toothless seemed to be affected by the woman's sadness, because he pulled back from his observation of the small Anna to look at Hiccup with a sympathetic expression brimming in his green eyes and letting out a soft coo, as if to say - __do something.__

"Hey are you hungry?" The rider asked whilst rising from his spot, hoping to break the unease. She turned back towards him, not expecting him to change the subject so suddenly and he continued; "I've packed enough for two, so I'm more than happy to share."

That was a lie. Hiccup didn't eat nearly as much as his fellow Vikings and only brought enough to last him for a week at best, he didn't worry about packing anything for Toothless because he knew that the Night Fury would hunt. Which is what he needed to do; hunting, that or fishing, and it had to be sometime in the next couple of days if he didn't want to go hungry.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've already eaten."

The Chief didn't know whether or not he should believe her, however, once again he reminded himself that this was none of his business. Even though she looked so painfully thin and he would bet his flame sword that she hadn't had a decent meal in a very long time—what could he do? He couldn't very well force feed her, that would be incredibly crazy and exceptionally rude.

"Are you sure? I've got more than I can eat alone." He persisted, hoping she would say yes.

"I'm fine, but thank you once again for your kind offer." She insisted, remaining in her spot. She smiled, it appeared warm but it was so fake it made Hiccup feel sick.

"Okay," he said reluctantly. Patting Toothless' head, he added; "Come on, Bud."

The Night Fury followed closely behind and the Chief turned back to Elsa, who at that moment was staring at the view. He sighed and then walked into the cave, trying to ignore the disappointment currently gnawing away at his insides. He wanted to show the woman his gratitude for her generosity, but she had no interest in receiving payment of any sort.

__'____But then again, why does it matter? Aren't you &amp; Toothless heading back to Berk today?____'__

The truth was, Hiccup didn't want to go back. Not yet, anyway.

He'd spent so many years grieving for his Father, his wife &amp; his unborn child that he had forgotten who he was. He needed time to re-establish himself—away from his Mother and their arguments, away from his friends, away from his village and most importantly, away from his responsibilities.

Astrid would smack him upside the head if she were here at this moment, however, he couldn't help it. The dragon tamer spent so much of his time &amp; energy into the village that he was exhausted. There were even days where he just wanted to jump onto Toothless' back and leave Berk forever. While he was grateful to be given such a responsibility and fiercely proud of his achievements, they still did not fill the gaping hole in his chest. Nothing would.

Toothless warbled out loud, disrupting his thoughts.

"Alright, you big Baby, I'll give you something to eat."

Even though he relied on Toothless to do his own hunting, Hiccup liked to pack a spare fish or two, as a snack for the perpetually hungry dragon. Although, he was sincerely hoping that the smell hadn't gotten to his knapsacks or worse, his clothes.

Opening the provisions bag, the rider pulled out a clothed bundle and opened it revealing two fresh fish he had only caught just before they left. Turning back to his friend he threw them into the Night Fury's open mouth and he caught them with perfect ease.

Toothless cooed appreciatively once he finished.

"You're welcome, Bud. Just please do me a favour and try not to regurgitate them. I've got my own food. Thank you." He drawled as he pulled an apple out of his bag and took a large bite of it. Of course, it wouldn't be enough to fill his stomach, but it was enough to stave off his hunger for now.

The dragon warbled in understanding. Once finished, Hiccup decided that he should probably assess their injuries from the night before __(which he should've done straight away, instead of procrastinating the inevitable...) __Pulling out a thick green tunic from another knapsack, much like the one he use to wear at fifteen, he then turned towards to the entrance and called out Elsa's name.

"Yes?" she replied, getting up from her spot.

"Oh you don't need to move! I just wanted to let you know that I'm changing my clothes so I'll just need to close the entrance."

"Oh..." She responded, sounding a little flustered. "Very well then."

It was kinda embarrassing to tell her that, but Hiccup would rather have done that than risk the possibility of her walking in on him naked. Toothless, understanding his friend's desire for privacy, turned around and moved back to the dwindling bonfire, leaving the Chief a feeling of gratitude.

His upper armour was the first to go and he tried to ignore the chill and the goose-bumps erupting all over his arms &amp; torso, however, this now gave him the perfect opportunity to finally assess his injury. It was a pretty dark the bruise that now covered his entire shoulder and it was rather sore as he touched it, but other than that felt fine. Mostly superficial, in all honesty. Still he knew he would need to take it easy for the next couple of days. Which was rather funny because a few years ago this wouldn't have even phased him, but since reaching his twenties he found himself feeling sore even after completing the simplest of tasks.

He hastily threw the tunic on and felt instant relief from the cold. Now time to change pants which was a lot more difficult since losing his leg—he kicked his boot off and quickly stripped down, he stumbled a little and almost lost his balance, but fortunately regained it at the last minute. Everything looked fine down there, no bruises or marks, except for the one missing leg, everything seemed to be in working order. He pulled on some simple warm pants and put his boot back on.

"So how do I look?" he asked his winged companion once he deemed himself presentable.

Toothless turned around, gave a roll of his eyes and huffed before turning back to the fire.

"Yeah, that really boosts my confidence. Thanks." The rider shot back with sarcasm so thick he could practically cut with a dagger.

In spite of that, he was glad that Toothless was acting more like himself. He had been worried last night that the Night Fury might have been hurt after their collision, however, the dragon seemed to be unphased this morning. Obviously the stress of the situation had gotten to him last night, hence why he behaved the way he did. Not that Hiccup could blame him. Never in all his life would he have ever thought he'd encounter a person who could wield ice at the wave of their fingertips. It was a truly frightening ability and if the roles were reversed, he would not have hesitated to defend his best friend.

Still he could only hope that the dragon wouldn't freak out again. He didn't want to test the limit of Lady Elsa's patience... or her heart rate.

"Alright, let's go back out." He said, nudging his head towards the entrance. "We've been in here long enough."

Toothless nodded and eagerly followed the Chief outside.

"Sorry for the wait." He apologised to the fair maiden, who was still seated in her spot.

"That's fine," she spoke cordially. Looking at his simple clothes, she asked; "Feeling more comfortable now?"

"I was before, but I only wear that suit when I'm riding." The Viking admitted as he sat himself back down in his earlier spot. He noticed with some disappointment that the small statue of Anna was gone now and he wondered if it melted while he was inside.

Elsa raised an eyebrow and he immediately knew what she was thinking. He had said last night that they would be gone and she was probably pondering over why he hadn't kept his word, but was too polite to ask about it out-loud.

"I was wondering, if it's not too much to ask..." he started nervously. "If Toothless and I could stay here another day. I know I promised that we would leave today, but last night, I hurt my shoulder during the storm. It's okay now, just really sore. I just don't want to risk worsening it..."

The woman's blue eyes widened before appearing reflective again. If he didn't know better, he would almost say she looked guilty, which seemed preposterous. It wasn't like the storm was her fault.

__'____Unless...____'__

No, that was ridiculous—even he knew that. She might be able to control ice, but she certainly couldn't control the weather. Only Thor had the power to create devastating storms.

"Of course," she spoke interrupting his musings. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like. However, I'm afraid I can't allow you to sleep in the cave."

"I understand," he agreed. It was inappropriate for an unmarried man &amp; woman to sleep in the same proximity and he would respect her wishes. "Except, my tent got destroyed last night."

"Allow me to remedy that." She said, rising from her spot. "Meet me down to your camp spot in ten minutes. Please bring all your personal belongings with you."

"Okay..." He said reluctantly, he watched in interest as the woman walked straight past the entrance and headed towards the edge of the mountain. Where on earth was she going? "But what are you going to do?"

Elsa looked over her shoulder and he noticed she had the faintest smirk on her lovely features, surprising the young Chief and yet excited him all at the same time.

"It's a surprise."

* * *

Ten minutes later him &amp; Toothless were back on the ground and now in the same place they had planned on residing the night before, except there now stood Elsa looking as casual as could be, next to a solid hut completely crafted out of ice!

"Woah...!" he breathed out in awe. Jumping off the Night Fury's back, he rushed over to the hut but halted himself before he got too close. Turning to Elsa's direction, he asked; "You did this all yourself?"

"Well there's nobody else here." She replied politely, although he detected the faintest trace of sarcasm.

"I know, stupid question. It's just wow... I can't believe you did this all on your own! It's amazing!"

"You can go in if you like." She said, sounding a little flattered by his response.

He didn't need to be told twice. Pushing the front door open, Hiccup was greeted to the sight of a simple room which contained a fireplace __(an actual fireplace!) __crafted into the wall, a beautifully crafted desk much to his delight as well a seating chair, a bed with his blanket folded now on it and a large window above it which offered a view of the lake &amp; mountain. Even Toothless was awed at the amazing craftsmanship because he hopped right into the hut, almost bowling Hiccup over and started sniffing everything.

"Wow..." He breathed out again with the biggest grin on his face.

"Do you like it?" Elsa asked, sounding a little nervous.

"I love it!" he exclaimed honestly. Turning his gaze to her, he continued; "This is incredible! Thank you so much!"

"Well I wouldn't say it was my finest masterpiece..." She admitted, obviously thrown by his appraisal. A small smile crept onto her lips and she said, "But I'm glad you like it. Will there be enough room for you and Toothless?"

"More than enough," he assured her. "Awww man, I can't wait to tell everyone about this at home! They'd all be knocking on your door to be asking you to build something like this! You've got an amazing talent, Lady Elsa."

For some reason, she didn't look convinced by his words and he wondered if he had said something inappropriate, but he wasn't lying. With so many dragon related incidents, homes back at Berk could take days to weeks to rebuild—and yet, she achieved this in a matter of minutes. Elsa would certainly make a lot of business if she lived on Berk.

"As a thank you, please allow me to make dinner for you." Hiccup offered, surprising the woman.

"Oh no, that's not necessary." She said shaking her head and holding out her hands in front as a sign of refusal.

"As Chief, it would be exceptionally rude not to repay his host for all their kindness."

The ice maiden looked hesitant and he hoped it wouldn't take too much more to convince her.

"Please if there's one thing I can do to thank you and repay you for your kindness—allow me this." He pleaded, sincerely hoping she could take his offer this time. She looked so thin and breakable, like an injured forest animal frightened out of its wits end; he wanted to help in anyway he can. To see another human being like that was horribly gut-wrenching.

When she sighed and slumped her shoulders, he knew he had won. Although he did his best to not smirk at the victory.

"Alright then..." She agreed reluctantly, before collecting herself and spoke in a more cordial manner. "I'll be looking forward to seeing what Viking cuisine has to offer."

Upon hearing that Hiccup realised that maybe he should put more thought into this. While he was a much better cook than his mother and Astrid _(bless her soul)_, he didn't spend much time dwindling in the culinary arts. Still, he knew what ingredients worked well together and how not to get food poisoning. Hopefully, he just didn't make a fool of himself while doing so.

"You won't get sick. That, I promise you."

Now what to do __exactly__ for dinner... He didn't have a lot in his provisions bag, especially now that he had fed Toothless all the fish they had—so fishing it was. Although it would be difficult because of the thickness of the ice, but not impossible. The Night Fury would simply have to blast the lake open.

"Come on, Bud. We're going fishing."

The rider quickly removed the knapsacks &amp; saddle from the dragon and placed them by the bed. He searched through his tool bag and removed his retractable fishing line, some thin rope &amp; a dagger, before they exited the hut with Elsa following closely behind. The three of them approached the lake, exactly where it had been thawed the night before—since they had already weakened the ice, if should be easier to blast it apart.

Turning to his winged companion, he asked; "Ready?"

Toothless positioned himself whilst Hiccup rushed over to the fair maiden and got in a protective stance right in front of her. Noticing the concerned expression written all over her face after looking over his shoulder, all he said was; "Brace yourself."

A second later, the Night Fury released his plasma-blast against the melted edge and the earth trembled against the blast, a large crack followed. Elsa let out a gasp, inadvertently causing Hiccup's pride to swell. He might not have amazing powers, but he still had a kick-ass dragon.

Oh well, he never said he was modest.

"What was that...?" the woman said as they watched the ice break apart &amp; bobble in the water.

However, his attention was too focused on the Night Fury when turned his head to their direction. "Good job, Buddy. Now let's get that tailfin off and you can catch some fish."

The black dragon cooed, obviously delighted by the prospect and pounced over to his friend. Holding out his tail eagerly, Hiccup unbuckled the device with practised ease and watched the reptilian creature swish it around, getting used to the lack of weight before he rushed back to the water and put his tail in, using it as an impromptu fishing rod.

"So you made that all by yourself?" Elsa asked as he laid it on the ground, inspecting it with great interest. "It's very impressive."

"Thanks. He's gone through quite a few these past few years," Hiccup explained as he went to sit beside the dragon. Fortunately Elsa had quickly crafted stool so he wouldn't have to sit on the ground. He gave a quick thanks in her direction whilst setting up his fishing rod and threw the line into the water before he continued, "I even made one where he would be able to fly freely on his own, however, he destroyed it shortly afterwards."

"Destroyed it? Why?" She asked as she sat down next to him on a seat of her own. Her sky blue eyes were wide with a child-like curiosity, she looked so adorable at that moment, he couldn't even begin to imagine how many hearts she would have stolen in her life.

"He decided that he only wanted to fly with me." He answered, completely humble as he did so. "It's a true honour."

"So you're very close," she stated.

"We've been through a lot together, we've learnt to trust &amp; depend on one another over the years and I love him more than anyone else in this life." He responded honestly. "Sometimes he's even been called my other half—as creepy as that sounds..."

"That's amazing... I couldn't imagine ever being that close to someone."

"Well what about you and Anna?" He regretted that question the instant it left his lips. What the Hel had he been thinking asking such a personal question?! Sadness flooded the woman's face and Hiccup was about to apologise, but she had already started talking.

"No, we weren't close. We were sisters, not friends." She looked pained as she said that and the Chief desperately wished he had kept his mouth shut.

"I'm sorry," and he sincerely meant that.

"It's alright, you don't have to apologise... however, I would prefer not to talk about Anna."

"I understand." Even if he didn't know the story behind them or whether Anna was still alive, Hiccup knew that whatever had transpired between the two sisters was not something to be taken lightly. It was something that still burdened the fair maiden's heart and he had no right to disregard it so easily just for something as trivial as his curiosity.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air and he wondered how many more unpleasant situations he would have to endure before he could finally initiate a normal conversation. By Thor, even his wedding night was less awkward than this! And that was saying __a lot___..._

**_**SPLASH!**_**

"AH! WHAT THE-?!" Hiccup cried as he suddenly got splashed by some extremely cold water and he could have sworn he heard Elsa let out a chuckle. Realising the culprit, he yelled; "TOOTHLESS!"

The Night Fury himself was too occupied at that moment, flicking his tail back &amp; forth in an effort to remove the large Icelandic fish hanging from it. The creature finally let go and dropped to the ground, convulsing from the lack of water in its gills before finally it stopped moving.

"Useless reptile." He muttered under his breath before he shivered, his tunic now damp and clinging to him like a second skin.

"Oh dear..." The fair maiden spoke, trying not to sound amused. "Are you okay, Chief Hiccup?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Although his dinner will be halved tonight." He vowed before giving the dragon a death stare. However, Toothless was already back to finishing and couldn't see his friend's annoyed expression so it turned out to be in vain.

"I'll go get your blanket." She offered, still trying to contain her giggles.

Watching her rise from her stool with the utmost grace and walking into the hut, Hiccup couldn't help from thinking how Ruffnut could do really good to get some tips from the fair maiden. Odin knows that woman needed to learn how to make an entrance __and__ exit without setting something or someone on fire.

"Here you go." She said as she returned, wrapping the blanket around his shivering frame.

"Thank you, but you do know that this is yours now." He said as she sat down.

"I understand, and I appreciate your generosity, but as I told you it's unnecessary. The cold doesn't bother me," she insisted.

"Well it doesn't bother me either!" He rebutted before realising how silly that sounded. "Well it does after a certain degree, but that goes for everyone. No one's impervious to the cold."

"I am." She simply replied and yet she said it with so much conviction that it stunned Hiccup.

"So you're meaning to tell me that you don't ever feel cold?" he asked in disbelief. The woman nodded in affirmation. "Not at all? Never? As in never ever? B-but how...?"

Surely she must be joking... right?

"I'm not sure of that one myself." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "It's always been that way ever since I could remember."

"Is it because you can manipulate ice?"

"Possibly... however, it should be mentioned that I can only control ice that's been conjured by my own hands. I can't control ice that's been made by nature."

"Really?! But what about the ice in your cave?" He wondered until it suddenly clicked. "You made that cave, didn't you? That's not apart of the mountain..."

Her eyes widened, stunned by his realisation and he mentally applauded himself. Seeing her reaction, his curiosity ignited and a million questions burned through his mind, like what else had she created since coming here? What other things could she do? Was she responsible for the frozen waterfalls and lake as well?

He wanted to ask her these things but it seemed fate or the Gods had other things in mind because at that moment, Hiccup felt a tug from his rod and he found his to be instantly diverted.

"We've got one!" he exclaimed excitedly, leaping from his stool and letting the blanket slip off his shoulders. "Woah, it feels like a big one too!"

The struggle had been quick &amp; rough, and there had been a few instances the rider thought he would lose his catch, however, he preserved and managed to pull the unfortunate creature out of its domain. The Icelandic fish convulsed, trying to regain its breathing but eventually it finally accepted its fate and ceased to move.

"I always hate that part," Hiccup admitted to Elsa as he bent over to assess his catch. He then grabbed the thin rope he held onto previously and started wrapping it around the fish's tail. "I understand that some creatures must be killed in order for others to survive, but its still unpleasant nonetheless. Although the others back at home would think I'm being ridiculous and laugh if they heard me say that."

"That seems a little harsh."

"Nah, I don't think they would be mean about it. My people have had a__"kill or be killed"__mentality ingrained into them for hundreds of years now. It can't be changed overnight simply because of one boy who decided to befriend a dragon." He spoke whilst hauling the large fish over his shoulder. Oh Odin, the thing would be able to feed Hiccup alone for half a week! "They've gotten better, but it'll be up to the future generations to uphold our new values &amp; beliefs."

"That's quite the burden to place onto your descendants."

"It is," he agreed wholeheartedly. Approaching the closest tree to them, the Viking found the lowest branch and tied the rope against it. There, now he didn't have to worry about any predators taking off with his catch, except for the Night Fury and the fact he hadn't seen another living creature since arriving here... "But it's an important one, I can only hope my cousin can instil that into his future children when they carry on the Hooligan bloodline."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, keenly interested although fortunately chose not to say anything, which he found himself to be extremely grateful for.

"So..." he started, changing the topic. "Let's get some firewood. You coming, Toothless?"

Said creature was currently playing with his half eaten meal, throwing it up in the air and catching it with his claws, before repeating. The fair maiden looked positively ill whilst it took all of Hiccup's willpower to resist the strong urge to vomit.

"Good for nothing reptile." He muttered, looking away from his friend. Turning his gaze to Elsa, he asked; "Would you like to join me?"

The woman nodded, obviously not too keen on watching the Night Fury's juggling performance.

"Follow me," she said and he obeyed.

* * *

As they walked into the forest, it took every inch of Elsa's willpower not to bolt &amp; run, or worse, reveal the true extent of her abilities.

__'____Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show...___c___onceal, don't feel. Don't let it show...____'__

It was obvious that Chief Hiccup only knew about her ability to craft ice &amp; being able to manipulate it, but now he also knew her limitation.

__'____Oh Elsa, what on earth were you thinking revealing such a thing?____' __Her mind chastised her. _'_What's next? Are you going to tell him that you can make snow too, or that you're a Queen? You're making yourself an easy target for a man you've only just met!____'__

That's true. She was being reckless and irresponsible, all because she's so happy to talk to another human being again. She was lonely, she couldn't deny that—but there was a reason for that. There was a reason for all of it; from switching bedrooms at eight so Anna wouldn't re-learn of her powers, to learning to braid her own hair &amp; doing her own make-up so she wouldn't harm her mother or Gerda, to keeping herself locked in her room during her parents' funeral so she wouldn't accidentally freeze the attendants and make a mockery of her parents' good name.

There had been a reason for it all, but it'd all been for nothing.

Her powers were revealed, her kingdom was frozen and her sister died.

__"Fear will be your enemy."__

The wise troll was right. In the end, fear had prevented Elsa from re-connecting with her family, it had caused her to inadvertently attack the Duke of Weasleton and freeze the land, it had sent her running for the North Mountain, it had caused her to freeze Anna's heart, it had caused her to attack the Duke of Weasleton's guards and almost kill them, it had caused the blizzard which would've speed up the Princess freezing process and it caused her to run again when the weasel of a Duke made the order to seize her.

Fear had been dictating her life for as long as she could remember and now it was the only thing that she knew.

__"You don't have to live in fear... Because for the first time in forever, I'll be right here."__

If the former Queen had known how it all would've turned out, she would've definitely turned around, grabbed Anna's hand, headed down the mountain and fixed the problem, one way or another—consequences be damned, because nothing would have been remotely bad compared to the life she was living now.

"Lady Elsa..." She heard, breaking her musings.

"Hmmm... sorry Chief Hiccup, I missed what you said." She apologised, embarrassed to have dazed off in company.

"I was just asking how old you were?" he repeated kindly. She must've been out of it for a while because he now had quite the pile of sticks in his arms.

"My dear Chief, do you know how exceptionally rude it is to ask a lady her age?" she replied slyly. She enjoyed watching him drop his bundle to sputter an apology. She simply chuckled, amused by his response, before deciding to put the poor man out of his misery. "I'm not sure to be honest. Last time I celebrated my birthday I was twenty-one, but since being out here I've lost all concept of time."

"Well when is your birthday?" he asked curiously as he re-gathered his sticks and Elsa couldn't see the harm in answering.

"During the winter solstice." It was a vague answer, but it seemed to appease the Viking. "Yours?"

"Mine happens once every four years." She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in interest at that. "What's your favourite colour?"

"I like blue and teal. Yourself?"

"Green, brown, red &amp; black. Favourite food?"

"Chocolate—although I haven't eaten it in a very long time."

"Chocolate? What's that?"

"It's hard to explain. Basically it's a sweet that's very addictive and terrible for the waistline. What about you?"

"I don't have a favourite food, per say. Most of our food is pretty tasteless. Can you read?"

"Yes and I quite enjoy it. Of course, I haven't read in a very long time... can you write, Chief Hiccup?"

"I can, although I'm not sure you'd be able to read it very well. Can you dance?"

"No, I don't. Can you?"

"Well technically I can, it's just tricky with one leg."

"I'm sorry," Elsa realised that her question might have come off as rude.

"Don't worry about it," he spoke reassuringly. "If anything, losing a leg was one of the best things to happen to me."

"I don't quite follow you."

How on earth could someone consider losing one of their limbs a blessing?

"When I was younger I was a scrawny runt—a walking fish bone. Losing my leg motivated me to train myself, to become stronger and to remind myself how grateful I should be that I'm alive &amp; not to take that for granted."

"You're a very peculiar person, Chief Hiccup." The former Queen admitted and couldn't ignore the nice feeling she got when he smiled in response. It was like she could finally talk to someone without having to worry about revealing her secret or paying the political consequences.

__'____Don't get too comfortable, Elsa.____' __She reminded herself. _'_Tonight is the last night Chief Hiccup will be here and then he'll ____go____ back to Berk to resume his life as normal. You will be nothing more than a memory. An interesting one, but a memory nonetheless.____'__

And that was good. Hiccup was a wonderful man. He was warm and kind and reminded her so much of Anna that it made her chest ache. They both liked to ramble on like crazy whenever they were feeling awkward, had that same zest for life, were fearless, and mostly importantly; she wanted to protect them both.

__"No, I'm just trying to protect you."__

__"You don't have to protect me. I'm not afraid."__

All she wanted to do was protect Hiccup. She __needed __to protect Hiccup. He was a good person and his people needed their leader. Elsa only wished she could have been half as talented as him in leadership.

"I think we've got all we need." He spoke, once again interrupting her thoughts. "Lets head back."

As they walked back through the dense snow, the former Queen noticed the Viking struggling slightly and she offered to lighten the load by carrying half the firewood. However, his chivalry __(or perhaps his pride) __kicked in and the Chief stubbornly refused, leaving her with no choice but to comply. They continued at a slow pace whilst she kept an eye on the young man, ready to assist should he decide to change his mind. Of course he didn't, but it at least gave her the opportunity to assess the dragon rider.

He was quite young, probably only few years older than her and yet held a certain wisdom that surpassed his age. He was sensitive, clever and much too observant for her liking. He was strong too both mentally &amp; physically, that she was certain of and she knew that even with her powers, she would not like to fight the Viking one-on-one, especially if his dragon decided to get involved.

He was also extremely good-looking, much to her surprise when she first saw him. The mask he had been wearing as he had tried to coax her out of the shadows made him look fierce and reeked of danger, thus made her reluctant to approach despite his caring words. So it had definitely been quite a shock when he removed it and she was introduced to emerald green eyes, rugged dark hair and a charming boyish grin. She could imagine he'd been sought after by all the girls in his village and she wondered if he had someone eagerly waiting for him at home to return.

He mentioned before about his cousin's children carrying on the family bloodline and it piked her interest. Did he not have a wife? From the time she'd spent with him, she couldn't imagine no woman not being attracted to the Chief. Perhaps there was someone he longed for, however, was betrothed to another man and knowing he couldn't be with her, chose to remain unmarried.

Or perhaps, the rider was so focused on running his village he simply didn't have the time, nor the interest to start a family—although that would certainly be considered rather unorthodox. Even Elsa herself had received many marriage proposals before her seventeenth birthday and knew she would eventually to pick a suitor for the sake of her kingdom. Fortunately her father, believing that she still needed to focus on controlling her powers, would insist that his daughter was not ready and had managed to turn them all down without causing a diplomatic dilemma. Of course, after his death the proposals started again, however, many had the good grace to wait until at least a year afterwards.

Is there was one thing Elsa was relieved about with this life was that she did not have to worry about the possibility of marriage. With her abilities, she always believed that revealing them to her husband would only guarantee her execution, or worse, him try to exploit them and it resulting in an all out war. She had always planned to make Anna's future children her successors, despite the protests of the council.

They arrived back to the lakeside and were greeted by an eager Toothless, who pounced on the unsuspecting Hiccup and as a result, lost his hold on the firewood. The sticks scattered through the air and the Chief landed on the ground with a heavy thump. The fair maiden winced in empathy as he groaned in pain, however, his pain was temporary as the Night Fury started licking the man's face.

"Argh!" he cried, completely grossed out and pushed the dragon off. He rose and used his hand to wipe his face, before saying; "How many times have I told you not to do that?!"

Toothless made an odd noise and if Elsa didn't know any better she would say that he was chuckling at his companion's discomfort. He was certainly a bizarre creature and she definitely had not expected this kind of behaviour from a dragon. From all the books she read as a child, dragons were portrayed as fearsome beasts without a shred of conscious. Monsters, some would call them.

__"Him? Scared? I don't see why____—____he's a dragon. He's strong and fast. He's ___**_**powerful**_**___."__

__"It doesn't mean he can't get scared too."__

Something fluttered in her chest when she heard that, Elsa couldn't describe it and yet somehow she felt like he was referring to her as well when they had spoken last night, as silly as it may seem.

Hiccup walked over to the lake to wash his face while the former Queen decided to collect the discarded firewood. She had just managed to get it into a small pile when he returned.

"I think we should start the fire over there." He said, pointing to the front of the hut. "Can you make another fire pit again?"

She waved her hand and created the pit in an instant, except this one was much larger and smooth boulders replaced spikes as a barrier.

Throwing the firewood into the pit, he then turned to Toothless and pointed. The dragon immediately knew what his companion was thinking, walked over and released a small fireball. Steam rose the wood, prompting the Night Fury to try again. Sure enough, fire came to life and the winged creature sat down, pleased with himself.

"Thanks Bud," the Chief said. He went to over to his stool and picked up his dagger and then walked over to the suspended fish. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "I have to clean the fish so you might not want to see this."

Elsa looked in the other direction and decided to move the stools behind the fire, closer to the hut so they could still have a view of the lake. She listened to Toothless scurrying over to Hiccup, obviously eager to eat more. The rider murmured something, a crunch &amp; gulp could be heard and then a purr of satisfaction. Guess, that was one way of getting rid of the unwanted bits.

A few minutes later, the Chief had returned to the bonfire with all the fish now portioned &amp; skewered on what appeared to be thin metal poles, when he did that she had no idea, but she didn't care. Stabbed into the ground and close to the flames, she watched as they began to cook and the young woman wondered if she would be able to stomach even one portion. She hoped she wouldn't have too much trouble—she didn't want to offend Chief Hiccup's efforts.

"Did you want to have a drink of ale while we waited?" he asked.

Just the thought of drinking that vile substance again made her feel nauseous.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." She replied politely. "I'll just have some water."

"I got some from the lake last night. It's in my canister, I'll go get it for you." He offered and went inside the hut.

Elsa in the meantime crafted two cups, holding one in her hand and placing the other on the Chief's stool. A moment later he was out again, thanking her before pouring water into her cup and placing some into his own.

"I can't believe it's almost night time." He said in disbelief and she realised he was right. The sun was setting and yet the stars were now visible, the sky filled with purples, soft pinks &amp; vivid oranges—it truly was a lovely sight.

"Me neither," she agreed and felt a pang. What it was she couldn't be sure, but she was certain it was dread. Dread because the day had now come to an end. Dread because they were about to have dinner. Dread because Elsa wasn't sure if she'd even be able to eat. Dread because once it was all over it would be time for sleep, then nightmares, then morning, then Hiccup leaving and then Elsa leaving this place because this was no longer a place of solitude. She would have to aimlessly wander this wretched earth until she found a new place to call home, or died.

Toothless cooed all of a sudden and she looked over to him, who was now resting beside Hiccup and giving him the saddest pair of puppy eyes she had ever seen.

"I know, Bud, but we'll be leaving in the morning so you need your rest."

The Night Fury cooed again as if pouting and then turned his gaze to the bonfire.

"So you're heading back to Berk?" she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Not yet," he answered. "I told my mother that I would be only a few days, but I'm not ready to go back home."

"Why?" she asked, despite herself.

"A lot of reasons," he said. "But the biggest one is that I'm just tired. Running a village, it's a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, and sometimes I feel like I'll never match up to my father. I wish he was still here, I really miss him. He was a really great leader and I can only hope to be half as good as him."

Tears swelled in Elsa's eyes and it took all her self-restraint not to cry. She could only blame it on the bonfire smoke.

"I lost both of my parents when I was eighteen..." She admitted, surprising both Hiccup &amp; herself. Why she was talking about her parents, she didn't know, but listening the Chief talk about his own father made Elsa feel a kinship to him. "They had business to attend to and the only way they could get there was by boat. They were supposed to be gone for two weeks, but we got the news just a few days after they left."

"I'm sorry." Was the only thing he could say and yet the empathy etched across in his face said so much more—that he knew exactly how she was feeling and a reminder she wasn't alone. It touched her.

"It's okay. It happened so long ago, that it's nothing but a dull memory." She sincerely meant that. As much as it had pained her to lose her parents back then, it didn't compare to the crushing pain of losing Anna which she felt now.

"My dad died in battle when I was twenty," he said. "There was a man, a very bad man by the name of Drago Bludvist who wanted to create a dragon army and conquer the world. I thought I could reason with him, show him that dragons were good and how we could co-exist with them, but he wanted none of that. Unfortunately, he had gotten control of an alpha and used it to control our dragons, including Toothless. I thought... I could snap him out of it, but the Alpha had been too strong... Drago ordered Toothless to send a plasma-blast my direction, except... Dad took the hit."

Pain flooded in the man's green eyes and the former Queen desperately wished she could do something to ease the pain, however, she knew it wasn't something that could be fixed with a few kind words or a small gesture. Only Hiccup himself could heal whatever past hurt he may still feel, she could only hope it didn't consume him beforehand.

"So what happened to Drago Bludvist?" she asked. Even though she didn't want to bring it up, Elsa still wanted to know what was this man's fate and if he was still on the loose.

"I took care of him." He simply replied and yet, it sent a horrible chill down her spine. He reminded her that despite his kindness and warm heart, he was still a Viking—a warrior who has seen blood shed and had shed blood. "He won't be causing any more trouble."

"So you became Chief after that?" She said to change the subject and lighten the mood.

"Yes and I've been doing it ever since. Of course, it's hard and I haven't been able to spend much time flying with Toothless as I used to—but my people are loyal and my friends are always there to steer me in the right direction should I lose my way."

Elsa wanted to say that he was already doing a much better than her in leadership, but to do so would be revealing her identity and re-open wounds that hadn't even begun to heal. If she told him what she had done to her kingdom he would openly look at her in disgust and she really couldn't handle any more rejection, especially from him.

"Looks like dinner's ready," he spoke as he inspected the fish. "Lets eat."

Dinner had been an unexpectedly pleasant experience. The fish was quite lovely, not drenched in rich sauces as she was accustomed to back at home but she enjoyed it nevertheless. They talked more, although the conversation was a lot more light-hearted this time, with Elsa asking a lot about dragons and was surprised to learn how many species they were out there &amp; how many were yet to be discovered. She even learnt, much to her interest, Hiccup had even encountered one with the ability to use ice. He was certainly a wonderful story teller and she listened, completely enthralled. She told him he should write his stories down for future generations to which he replied one day.

Alas, all good things must come to an end and the fair maiden realised this as she felt exhaustion beginning to kick in. Her eyes started to droop and her body starting to relax. Hiccup noticed this and offered to escort back to her cave to which she refused.

"Thank you, Chief Hiccup, but that won't be necessary." She said as she rose from her seat.

"Please let me do it. It's quite a long walk and I'm more than happy to walk with you. Or we can jump on Toothless and go for a flight."

The Night Fury perked up at that, whilst Elsa shuddered at the idea. She would rather keep her feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Thank you for your generous offer, but I'm fine to walk. The trek isn't far and I'm used to it," she insisted. "Although in saying that, when do you leave?"

"By sunrise."

"Then I'll make sure to be here before then," she promised. "Goodnight, Chief Hiccup." Looking at the dragon she said, "Goodnight Toothless."

The winged creature gave a nod of acknowledgement, not as intimidated by her presence as he was last night.

"Good-night, Lady Elsa." He said and smiled. She returned the gesture, although not as gentle or carefree as his was, but enough to let him know she appreciated his efforts.

The former Queen walked at a slow pace, not in a rush to get to her cave despite her ever-growing exhaustion and instead for the first time, in a long time, took the time to appreciate the beauty surrounding her. She enjoyed watching the way the moonlight glowed against the snow, the peaceful silence filling her ears and the crisp air filling her lungs now that she was no longer sitting in front of the fire.

In that moment, she remembered how beautiful winter could be.

That moment was soon ruined as something lurched through her stomach and she once again, found herself on her hands &amp; knees throwing up, only this time she was greeted by the sight of a more pungent substance. Elsa waved her hand and willed her magic to cover up the evidence with snow.

__'____Well so much for Chief Hiccup's efforts...____' __She thought, feeling horribly guilty, although not that surprised. From hardly eating anything for the longest time to all of a sudden having a large portioned meal was bound to end in disaster. She was only grateful she had managed to hold it down long enough in the Viking's presence.

Her leg started throbbing again and Elsa pulled up her dress to inspect the wound. It was coated in a thin layer of ice, her body's natural attempt to keep the infection from worsening, however, she knew she would need more than that to fight it off. Not to mention, her head was now pounding away mercilessly, leaving the maiden feeling dizzy &amp; disoriented. She could only hope that some sleep would cure that.

Rising from the snow, the former Queen stumbled towards the mountain. The trip felt long &amp; arduous until she finally reached the ice slide which was still concealed. She was about to move the snow, however, out of nowhere Elsa lost all energy. Her frail body collapsed into the soft snow and she laid there unmoving.

She felt hot &amp; cold all over and she wondered what was happening. Was this it? Was she dying? Was she finally going to Heaven or Hell? Would Chief Hiccup found her here like this or leave without ever knowing?

A pair of blue eyes &amp; auburn hair flashed her mind and she realised none of that mattered any more; she was just eager to see Anna again.

__'____Wait for me, Anna.____' __She thought with a small smile. _'_And then, let's go build that snowman together...____'__

She then slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Author's Note: __***GASP!***__ Oh no, poor Elsa! She's passed out and I've left it on a cliffhanger! Dun, dun, DUN! Meh..._

_That's the end of Chapter 5 so what did everyone think? I had finished this a few weeks ago, however, I've been pretty busy with work and currently become obsessed with __**Big Hero 6**__ fanfiction (I love Tadashi and in complete denial of his fate), but I hope you'll still enjoy it._

_Now I know one thing you're most likely thinking: "OMFG it's SOOO long! This is like 2 chapters worth, why didn't you split it?!"_

_I had briefly considered that as this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story (27 pages - that's insane!), however, my beta reader &amp; good friend_ \- _**TheWritingFactory - **__convinced me otherwise. Which is a good thing because it definitely wouldn't have flowed very well. In saying that I would like to give a huge "THANK YOU" to _**_TheWritingFactory_**_ for proof-reading this a million times! The amount of times I emailed this chapter to him was ridiculous! Just saying. So thank you, man, because I probably wouldn't have gotten so far in this story without his support._

_Someone asked what the colours meant for Elsa's mood, so I'll quickly explain. Red is for fear/danger/indignation, chartreuse (being a yellow/green shade) is illness, purple is mistrust or blue is calm &amp; collected._

_Also, a huge "THANK YOU" to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You don't know how much I appreciate the time &amp; effort you take to posting your feedback, it makes writing all the while worth it._

_Sooooo... can I get everyone whose available to review. Pretty please? I've got Chapter 6 up &amp; ready to go and I'll post it in two weeks or less if I can at least reach to 40 reviews. I know I'm being greedy, but it really does motivate to push out these chapters a lot quicker._

_Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoy your weekend. Go watch **"****Frozen Fever"** \- Elsa's dress is gorgeous! Take care._


	6. I met a girl who hated the world

_Down on her knees she wept on the floor  
This hopeless life she wanted no more  
Dead in her mind and cold to the bone  
She opened her eyes and saw that she was alone  
She never found out how much I tried,  
All of the sadness she kept made me blind  
She never found out how much I cried,  
The rope so tight on the night that she died..._

\- Seether

* * *

When Elsa didn't show up that morning, Hiccup immediately knew something wasn't right. Call him old fashioned __(although he's probably being more naive than anything else)__ but he liked to believe when someone would give him their word, they would actually uphold their promise. He truly believed in Elsa when she said she would be here before sunrise. So when the fair maiden didn't come down to see him off, the Chief decided to wait because he thought that maybe she had been so exhausted from the night before she had simply slept in.

However, hours had passed &amp; the sun was now up and the rider was getting impatient.

"Where could she be?" he wondered out loud, sitting by the dead bonfire. The embers were still warm, but only barely due to the now raining snowflakes. He had woken up this morning to see the soft snow fall and he knew they would need to leave soon before it worsened.

Toothless sat next to him and crooned. Right now he was only wearing his saddle &amp; tail-fin as the Viking had removed the provisions off earlier and placed them back in the hut, deeming it pointless to be carrying them if they were still waiting for Elsa. Even though he was still reluctant to trust the ice maiden, the Night Fury was clearly just as concerned and kept glancing over his shoulder to the opening of the forest, as if expecting her to show up any minute.

"Come on, Bud." He said, finally growing tired of waiting. Rising from his seat, he continued, "Let's go see what's taking Lady Elsa so long."

The black dragon leapt to his feet, eager to do something other than idly sit by. He waited as Hiccup pulled himself onto the saddle and adjusted his prosthetic before shooting straight into the air. The flight was short &amp; simple and they were on the mountain in an instant. As they landed in front of the entrance, the rider swiftly hopped off the Night Fury with practised ease, made his way to the frozen double doors and banged his fist, making as much noise as possible. He waited a minute and then another one before he tried again. Still no answer.

"Lady Elsa?" he called out. Pushing the doors open, he took a step into the cave. "Lady Elsa? I'm sorry to intrude but Toothless &amp; I are leaving soon and you didn't show up, so we were getting a little worried."

He was only greeted by silence.

"Lady Elsa?" he tried again, walking briskly through the cavern. There was no sign of the fair maiden and an uneasy feeling started to grow in his stomach. He didn't like this. Not one bit. Call it a hunch, or intuition, or whatever else but something in Hiccup was telling him to go look for her because even though they hadn't known each other that long, he knew Elsa well enough to know she didn't break her promises.

__'____So where could she be?____' __He wondered, trying to mentally assess the area. The island wasn't that big and certainly didn't contain a lot of landmarks; just the mountain, the forest &amp; the lake which followed on as a large stream. Not to mention the entire land was covered in white snow and the colour of her dress should made her stand out like a sore thumb.

__'____Maybe she's taking a stroll in the forest and lost track of time.____' __His mind suggested, although the last part sounded utterly ridiculous.

Still it was a very big possibility, so maybe he should start there.

__'____Use the blanket as a way to track her scent.____'__

Good idea, with that they should be able to find her in no time.

"Come on, Toothless," he spoke as they walked out of the cave. "We're going back to the camp-site."

They flew back down to the hut and Hiccup quickly rummaged through the provision knapsack &amp; pulled out the blanket he had given her. Holding it out in front of Toothless, the dragon didn't even need to be told what to do before he took a few sniffs and nodded. The Chief jumped back onto the saddle, threw the blanket across his lap, clicked his prosthetic in place and tightly gripped the reins.

"Let's find Lady Elsa." He murmured into his friend's ears.

The Night Fury took of like a bolt, living up to his famed status of being the offspring of lightning. Even though they weren't flying, the way the black dragon duck &amp; wove through the snow made it feel as if they were in the clouds again. It reminded Hiccup of just how incredibly fast his friend was on foot—a formidable foe indeed—it was almost terrifying and he could be only grateful that the winged creature was on his side.

Toothless would stop every few moments to sniff the ground or a tree before taking off again. The Viking had been hoping he'd see a set of Elsa's footprints, but because of the falling snow, all traces of her had completely vanished. He would have to rely on the Night Fury's acute sense of smell in order to find her.

__'____That is, if you find her...____' __The pessimistic side of him spoke and Hiccup told himself to ignore it. He _would_ find Elsa one way or another and she would be perfectly fine—embarrassed perhaps for losing track of time, or that she had forgotten her promise, but perfectly fine nevertheless.

Just then they exited the forest and had only just reached the base of the mountain when Toothless suddenly stopped. It had taken Hiccup's quick reflexes to brace against the dragon's braking otherwise he would've found himself briefly airborne &amp; face-first in the snow. The rider wanted to scold his friend for not warning him, however, as Toothless rushed over to a small bundle of snow and started clawing, Hiccup could feel his heart beginning to race &amp; certainly not in a good way.

A glimpse of dark blue appeared amongst the pure white and that's when the Chief leapt off the Night Fury and started to frantically shove snow off the mound.

__'____No, it can't be!____' __He thought and his heart started beating at an irregular rate. The cold started to numb his fingers, but he paid no heed to that. Instead all he could think was -_ '_Please let me be wrong!____'__

However, his assumption was proven correct. In the next moment, a figure was revealed and he was greeted by the sight of Elsa's unconscious form. How she could survive being buried underneath the thick layer of snow was the least of his concerns as he looked to his left and noticed a portion of her dress was hiked, showing her cut leg which he had noticed two nights prior, was now sporting a really bad infection and a thick layer of... frost?

__'____What...?____'__

"Lady Elsa!" he exclaimed loudly, grabbing her shoulder, he shook her. Toothless cooed and then nudged his head against her own, however, the woman gave no response. An image of Heather laying amongst shipwreck popped into his mind, but he pushed it out of his mind, because that was staged and she survived.

__'____How long has she been out here?____' __He wondered, dread filling through him and an awful pang of guilt stabbed his heart. '__Is she even alive?____'__

A trembling hand reached out and touched her neck, looking for a pulse. It took a moment and he didn't realise he was holding onto his own breath, however, he eventually felt it. Her pulse was racing at an alarming rate, whether from the possible fever she might have contracted from the flushed cheeks she was now sporting or from his own shaking form, but it was there nevertheless and dread was quickly replaced with relief, despite the severity of the situation.

"Oh thank Thor!" he murmured, grateful for the small blessing. He could still save her. Hiccup pulled the blanket off Toothless' saddle, glad that he brought it along with him and managed to wrap the entire thing around her thin frame, before easily lifting her up and got back onto the Night Fury. Granted, it had been incredibly awkward get on the saddle with the bundle in his arms, but Toothless was than eager to help. Laying as flat against the ground that he could, the dragon also used his tail to boost Hiccup up and waited patiently as the Chief clicked his prosthetic into place.

Holding the fair maiden with one arm and holding onto the reins with the other, he spoke; "Lets head back to the hut, Bud. On foot though, because I'm not going to be able to hold onto Lady Elsa without risking the chance of her falling."

His winged companion crooned in understanding and took off. The ride back was a blur, but it felt too long for his taste and Hiccup was regretting his decision on not flying back, even though he knew this was the more sensible decision. Still, it was hard to focus clearly when someone's life was in danger and there was nothing you could do at that exact moment. Oh how he now wished he insisted on escorting Elsa back home, instead of letting her have her way! Now she was hurt, unresponsive, sick &amp; she could be dying-

__'____Stop, stop thinking like that!____' __He scolded himself._ '_She's still got a pulse and ____she's still____ breathing, although it's very heavy. ____W____e just need to get her inside, away from the cold and warm her up. She'll be fine.____'__

But even if he did that, there might be a big possibility that she wouldn't survive and Hiccup couldn't cope with the idea. She was so young and always looked so sad &amp; so lonely, haunted by things he could probably relate to.

He really didn't want her to die. He couldn't handle another unnecessary death.

They reached the camp-site in a matter of minutes and the Chief couldn't be any more relieved. He managed to slide off Toothless without too much difficulty and the Night Fury rushed over to the hut &amp; opened the door for the rider.

"Thanks Bud." He said, grateful for his companion's assistance and rushed to lay the unconscious maiden on the bed. Running outside, he went over to the dead bonfire and grabbed some unused firewood from the night before and went back inside, threw it in the fireplace, poured some flammable from his provisions and got Toothless to light it. With that going, Hiccup grabbed the seating chair from underneath the desk and placed it by the bedside before going to his knapsack to pull out the first aid kit.

"Please don't think badly of me." He murmured to Elsa, as he removed the dagger from his rider suit.

Taking a shaky breath, he pulled the blanket away from her lower right side and then used the dagger to rip her dress from the knee down, creating a slit as a result. However, as he did that he noticed with great interest that the material didn't make a single tearing noise and it was smooth too. It was very interesting material __(although rather cold, but that was ____probably____ because it had been buried in snow for ____such____ a long time)__ and Hiccup wondered where it came from &amp; its value.

"Damn..." He muttered as he finally managed to examine the wound for the first time. It was worse than he had originally thought; the frost had now melted away and revealed that the cut was a dark pink &amp; pus was starting to seep, but fortunately he didn't see any red veins so the infection hadn't gotten into her bloodstream just yet.

Opening the first aid kit, which had been given to him as a birthday present from Gothi, the Chief vowed he would thank her personally when he returned to Berk, he pulled out a large bottle of salt water. He had learnt of its healing abilities during one of his expeditions when he was nineteen and had been using it on any open wound ever since. He tried plain salt alone once as an experiment and he didn't realise how many curse words he knew until that day.

Grabbing a clean rag, he cupped underneath the woman's cut and murmured a heartfelt apology, before pouring the salty water directly open the open wound. A whimper quickly followed and she shifted, curling herself into a ball which prompted Hiccup to look at her face. This was the first response she had given since this entire ordeal and he was glad to know that she was receptive enough to acknowledge pain. He turned his attention back to her leg and had to pull back his hand when he noticed that the water was starting to freeze!

"Woah..." He breathed out as the cut was now coated in a thin layer of ice rather than the frost he had seen earlier. It amazed him that even in her sleep, her powers were still active and ready to defend their host, no matter what situation she might find herself in. Still he knew it would be no good to simply leave the ice as it was, as it would melt eventually from the temperature of the room and Hiccup chose to wrap the wound as a precaution.

__'____Guess she hadn't been lying when she said that the cold never bothered her.____' __He thought as he wrapped the bandage around her leg with swift precision. _'_But she's still human. Eventually she would get sick from enduring the cold so for long, regardless of her abilities.____'__

Once done, he looked down to her feet and decided to remove her shoes. He was surprised to discover how cold they were and upon closer inspection he realised that they were made out of ice!

__'____So she can make fancy footwear as well!____' __He pondered as he held them up to eye level, marvelling at the intricate detail of her work. _'___By Odin, is there anything this woman can't do?____'__

The craftsmanship was spectacular and he wondered if she felt any discomfort walking around in them, before he placed them down on the floor and went to check her feet. He had noticed a few scars when he had removed her shoes and decided he should check for any cuts.

"You should really take care of yourself, Lady Elsa." The Chief cautioned her as he inspected them. He found one cut, but nothing too serious. He used the damp rag and repeated the same action as he had done for her leg. Another whimper escaped the maiden's lips and sure enough, the salt water froze over the cut. He grabbed another bandage, a shorter one this time and wrapped it around her foot.

With that done, Hiccup then wrapped her back with the blanket before taking a minute to assess the woman's condition. From her painfully thin frame, her fever &amp; bad infection from such minor cuts, he come up with the most plausible diagnosis: malnutrition. He had seen it before once and it was a very unpleasant experience. He had been very young, maybe four or five, and winter had been particularly rough that year—there hadn't been a lot of food to go around and a lot of people went hungry, himself included. In all honesty, it was a miracle that he even survived, but being a child and the son of a Chief no less, you outranked others in priority.

A lot of people died that winter and Stoick took it greatly to heart. That's when he decided that it was more important to look after his people than merely his own son. Not that Hiccup could condemn his father for it—he just learnt that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of one.

__'____If that's the case, you probably shouldn't have made her eat such a large meal last night.____' __His rational side spoke, reminding him how to treat such cases. _'___It would've done more harm than good and she probably got sick.____'__

That's true. In events such as these Hiccup learnt that the best method to get a malnourished person back into good health was to give them small doses of food &amp; water and eventually they would regain their appetite.

__'____Although___, ___it ____will ____probably ____be ____next ____to ____impossible ____to____get____her ____to ____eat ____in ____this ____state___,__' _he thought. _'___I can at least get her to drink some water, or better yet, I can brew some medicinal tea. It should be able to break her fever by nightfall.____'__

He got to work and with the help of the fireplace &amp; his fireproof fresh-water canister, he managed to make the herbal tea in a matter of minutes.

_'Now to actually get her to drink it...'_

"Lady Elsa," he spoke softly. He placed the cup onto the ground and he hoisted the woman up, getting her to lean against the bed-rest whilst he grabbed the tea and put it against her lips. "Here, Lady Elsa, drink this, it'll make you feel better."

She groaned and her eyelids fluttered until blue eyes were revealed. Hiccup felt relief to see her finally awake, but it was soon replaced with concern as she tried to pull herself up properly &amp; he quickly assisted her. The ice maiden winced as she moved her legs and planted them on the ground, but didn't seem to be in too much discomfort. Gripping the bed rail with both hands to steady her balance, she then looked at the herbal drink in distaste before finally murmuring, "N-no... too hot..."

She weakly pushed the cup towards the Viking, causing him to look down and watch as the liquid turned into solid ice. Hiccup turned the cup upside down and sighed in disappointment when it didn't fall out, knowing she had completely frozen the beverage &amp; inadvertently thwarted his good efforts.

"You have to drink it, Lady Elsa," he insisted. "It'll break your fever."

"No... I don't..." She started, screwing her eyes shut. Pain etched across her pretty features and she whispered; "I don't deserve it... I don't deserve... anything..."

__'____What on earth is she talking about?____' __The young Chief thought as he watched the blanket slip off her bare shoulders &amp; pool around her feet as she rose from the bed and began to stagger away. It was plainly obvious that she was now delirious with fever and he knew that he needed to get her to take the medicinal tea, otherwise her condition would surely worsen.

"H-hey hold on!" He pleaded, rising from his spot, ready to follow the ill woman. "Please Lady Elsa, you're not well! If you don't take this you'll get worse and you might..."

He didn't want to say __die__ because it was such a difficult word to say, and to tell it to a young woman, who was his age, seemed way too cruel.

"Die...?" she said for him, turning back to face him. She let out a mirthless laugh. "Good. That's great, actually. One less problem this world needs to deal with."

And then all of a sudden, snowflakes appeared in his vision and the Chief had to blink twice. Once to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him and the second time, because he was certain he had gone crazy. However, as they continued to fall he realised much to his astonishment, they were not simply a figment of his imagination—they were real and they were now drifting throughout the room!

__'____What?____' __Hiccup thought as he frantically turned around to look for the source. _'_Is the window open or something?____'__

As he turned his attention back to the ice maiden, who had her thin arms wrapped around her torso, with eyes downcast and looking so at ease with the falling snow, the rider immediately knew she was the cause at it.

__'____She can control snow too...?____'__

"...What?" He breathed out in disbelief. Whether because he was stunned by this new discovery, or for her total disregard for death, he couldn't be sure. "You can't honestly mean that."

"Oh but I do," she replied as tears brimmed her eyes. "Because what I can do is not natural... I'm a danger."

Out of the corner of his eye, Toothless was crouched low, his pupils narrowed into slits and a growl escaped his throat, clearly ready to defend his rider. Hiccup should've been alarmed, but like the other night, this all seemed way too surreal.

"That's why I could never play with Anna, or be around other people when we were children," she said. "Mama &amp; Papa knew that I was too dangerous to be around and they tried their best to help me learn to control to my powers so no one would ever find out!"

She looked so vulnerable, so tired, so resentful as she had said that, it tugged on Hiccup's heartstrings. Hard. All he wanted to do at the moment was reach out &amp; comfort the tortured blonde and to reassure that she wasn't dangerous, but to do so would be foolish, not to mention incredibly risky. In the state she was in right now, who was to say she might not inadvertently release her powers and strike either him or Toothless? Oh Odin forbid, if the Night Fury got involved! Knowing his friend, the black dragon would immediately retaliate and only make the situation worse.

"But in the end, it was pointless because I ruined everything!" she continued and the first lot of tears started to fall. "Everyone found out, I wrecked havoc on my home land and Anna... my poor sweet baby sister died!"

Elsa then collapsed to her knees and the snow stopped falling. Instead, the snowflakes hovered in the air, as if frozen in time. Soft sobs echoed through the room and all the Viking could do was stand there stunned. Unsure what to say, unsure what to do—Hiccup could only watch as she fell apart before his very eyes.

"It's all my fault..."

__"Don't!"__

__"Hiccup!"__

__"Stop!"__

__"SON!"__

__"DAD! NO!"__

And for the first time since losing his father, the young Chief felt like he could relate to her more in that one moment better than anyone else in his entire life.

* * *

_Author's Note: And that's the end of that chapter - rather small compared to the previous one, but_ _I figured this was enough... or was it? Hmm..._

_Alright, now onto exciting news - this story has a trailer! AN ACTUAL TRAILER! AND OMGOMGOMG IT IS SO AWEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMEEE! I'm not worthy of its pure epic awesomeness! Seriously, so SO **AMAZING**! I've watched it like a dozen times - so GOOD! Go onto youtube, type in **"Thaw Slowly"** and it'll be under the mastermind Margaret Helstone. So as a thank you - I've decided to dedicate this chapter to her. Thank you, **Margaret Helstone**, I feel so honoured, thank you._

_Also as always thank you to you guys for reading and reviewing - it really makes my day and makes it all the worthwhile. Love you guys (look at me getting all mushy &amp; sentimental, lol!) Take care and I'll see you guys next time._


	7. I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing

_I'm hanging on another day_  
_Just to see what you will throw my way_  
_And I'm hanging on to the words you say_  
_You said that I will be okay_  
_The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone_  
_I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way back home_  
_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing_  
_With a broken heart, that's still beating_  
_In the pain (in the pain), there is still healing_  
_In your name (in your name), I find meaning_  
_So I'm holding on (I'm still holding), I'm holding on (I'm still holding)_  
_I'm holding on (I'm still holding), I'm barely holding on to you_  
_I'm holding on (I'm still holding), I'm holding on (I'm still holding)_  
_I'm holding on (I'm still holding), I'm barely holding on to you_

\- Lifehouse

* * *

Elsa didn't know what to do any more.

The instant she had woken up, she found herself wrapped in a warm blanket, a fire crackling away in the background and Chief Hiccup sitting next to her patiently. She heard him plea for her to take some sort of medication, for if she didn't then she would die. In that feeble moment, something in her broke.

Maybe it was due to the fever wrecking all her common sense and rendering her completely incoherent. Or maybe it was because she was disappointed that instead of being greeted by Anna's sweet smiling face, she was greeted by a man with a beautiful face &amp; kind green eyes, who reminded the former Queen that she was still alive and still living this wretched existence. Or maybe after living isolation for so long and enduring all her frail heart could muster, she couldn't hold in the pain any longer and had to let it all out to the first person she's laid eyes on.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that even though he barely knew her and had witnessed her abilities first-hand, the Viking had treated her with more kindness, more concern, more dignity and more tenderness than anyone else in her life. Including her own parents.

Whatever it was, Elsa couldn't hold on any more—whatever that meant—and let it all out. She let it snow on them, even though she knew it was being reckless and then she told Chief Hiccup the one thing she couldn't bring herself to say out loud.

"I killed her. I killed my baby sister. It's all my fault... oh Anna..." She murmured as tears slipped down her cheeks and landed on the floor, one by one. She had half expected them to freeze until she remembered her powers were useless when she was sad—a reflection of her heart.

It had always been like for a long as she could remember. When she was happy her magic would glimmer in beauty, when she was scared it would turn dark &amp; rigid, when she was distressed fierce storms swirled around her and promised to destroy everything she would come into contact with. Her emotions were powerful factors when it came to wielding her magic, but sadness was the most powerful of all because it would numb her heart and cease her conjuring.

Elsa continued to sob and she knew that this had to be the lowest point of her life. She had cried many times before in the privacy of her own room, away from prying eyes &amp; judgemental stares, but this was the first time she ever revealed this much in front of another soul. It was humiliating and uplifting all at the same time—talk about a wonderfully messed up experience.

Footsteps could be heard and she wondered what the Viking would do now. She had spilled her secrets in the most unconventional manner and revealed her true nature: she had murdered her baby sister, she truly was a monster. Surely, he would have enough common sense to see she was a threat and eliminate her before she reeked further havoc upon the world. Or perhaps, he would let the Night Fury do the honours—the dragon had an immediate disdain for her since their introduction and obviously knew she was a danger to his companion. It would be much easier too. The winged reptilian was fast and had a better chance of finishing her off before her instincts would kick in &amp; her powers went into defence mode.

However, instead of hearing the metallic sound of a sword being removed or the lowly growls coming from a predator as he stalked towards his prey, she heard the sound of something soft shifting and careful footsteps. A minute later, Elsa felt something warm &amp; heavy engulf her entire form. Lifting her head up, she had saw much to her astonishment Chief Hiccup crouched in front of her and holding the blanket around her, to shield her from the sudden cold. His emerald green eyes bright and shining with so many emotions, but the boldest ones she could see were empathy &amp; pity, and he gave her one of the saddest smiles she had ever seen.

"I understand." He said with such conviction that she believed him.

_"I thought... I could snap him out of it, but the Alpha had been too strong... Drago ordered Toothless to send a plasma-blast my direction, except... Dad took the hit." _He had said that by the campfire last night and it didn't click until just now that he might be able to relate to her grief in more ways than one. Somehow, that made her feel even worse.

"Just please, don't throw away your life because you're consumed by guilt." He pleaded gently as he gripped her upper arms. "It's pointless and it won't bring her back."

"But I don't deserve to live, not after what I've done!" She choked out as more tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"But you're still alive, regardless of whether or not you want to be." He simply replied and Elsa wondered if she would ever stop crying, misery threatening to swallow her alive and she wondered how she had been able to endure it as long as she had.

She lost track of how long they were like that, but she knew it had to have been quite a while because she felt sore &amp; exhausted. Her fever was starting to take over again and all she wanted to do was fall asleep. The rider must have noticed because she felt herself be lifted to her feet and being gently ushered back to the bed, giving her words of encouragement as he did so.

He carefully laid her on the bed, placing her up against the bed-rest and she almost passed out until his voice broke through her sleepy haze.

"You have to drink this." He said offering the abandoned cup of tea. He must have placed it by the fire earlier, because it was completely melted now and felt warm as he put it into her hands. He looked at her with earnest before adding, "Please..." and Anna flashed through her mind again. There was something seriously wrong with her to compare this stranger to her dead sister, and yet, she was too tired to care any more.

Finally giving into the Chief's request, she hesitantly lifted the beverage to her lips and gulped the entire contents in one go—etiquette be damned. It was horribly bitter and she had almost preferred to drink the ale again, however, she soon realised it didn't matter as she quickly slipped into deep slumber.

* * *

A few hours later, Elsa awoke again. Although this time her mind felt a lot clearer and she didn't feel so horribly achy. Lifting herself upright, the former Queen looked at the window and noticed that it was now night time. Judging from how high the moon was, she would guess it was somewhere close to midnight.

_'One perk of having this God-forsaken curse,' _she thought. _Fast recovery.'_

Due to her magic, she was able to recover a lot faster from illness in a day or two. It was a very handy to have whenever she was feel run-down during her time as ruler because she knew she wouldn't have to endure it for long. She would wake up, take a few hours off and then resume business by the early afternoon, much to Kai &amp; Gerda's displeasure. Anna would always cry at the injustice of it all, saying that she was the more active one and it wasn't fair that it always took her twice as long to get better from any sort of illness or injury.

_'Not that it ever stopped her,' _Elsa reminisced._ 'She decided she still wanted to pursue a career in the performing arts by a doing crazy balancing act on her bike whilst juggling Mama's favourite crystal glasses and then go flying down the staircase—even though the day before she had only broken her arm after a round of knight armoury tobogganing!_

A dry chuckle escaped her lips as she remembered how livid their usually placid mother was when she had found out and the devastated look on her sister's face when Mama had decided that a week without dessert would be a more than suitable punishment for the overzealous Princess. The poor girl looked like she had been given the death penalty!

Of course, Elsa had felt sorry for her and one night snuck over to Anna's room and left her dessert by the door, the one which she told her parents that she wanted to eat in her room and her parents agreed to since Elsa was the perfect daughter, the epitome of perfect manners and good eating, they wouldn't ever have to worry about her making an awful mess. She had felt horribly guilty for not telling them the truth and agonised about it for the rest of the night, however, when she woke up the next day to find a note under her door with a drawing of a love-heart &amp; the word _"Thanks"_ written on it, the older girl had decided it was totally worth it.

Although she might have not been the greatest big sister growing up, Elsa had always tried to show her affection in one way or another. Like when she had to move out, she had taken the Anna doll and left the Elsa one for the younger Princess to play with whenever she felt lonely, but when Anna knocked on her door in tears asking why she was keeping the two sisterly dolls apart—Elsa returned it the next day.

_'They're sisters,' _she had thought in all her innocence. _'They should be able to play together, even if Anna &amp; I can't.'_

Or when Anna used to knock on her door everyday. Sometimes she would sit there for so long waiting for her older sibling that she would doze off and then the blonde Princess would sneak out and tell Kai _(because Papa was a busy King and she hated bothering him when he was working) _so he could collect the younger girl and put her to bed.

Or most importantly, the night of their parents funeral. Anna had fallen asleep by Elsa's door again and Kai had found her &amp; took her back to her room like always. Except this time, after they had left, the older sister had followed, and that time, it was Elsa who sat by Anna's door, wanting to ask out loud if she still wanted to build a snowman. She slept there that night and left early sunrise before Anna ever realised.

_"I'm not leaving without you, Elsa."_

Those were the last words she had ever said, back on the North Mountain. Even though, she had been struck by the older woman's magic and was all too aware of menacing sound of the ice cracking and darkening all around them; she still stood tall &amp; fearless, desperate to reconnect with her big sister.

_"Just stay away and you'll be safe from me." _

If only Anna had heeded her sister's warning, she would've still been alive, resuming her life in Arendelle with sunshine, open gates &amp; Prince Hans, while the older woman would continue living in her castle of solitude. Yes, she would have been lonely, but she would have been living contently at knowing that her sister was happy.

Prince Hans would have made her happy. Much more than Elsa ever could. That's why she pleaded with him to look after Anna in that fierce blizzard, because she knew she couldn't stay in the kingdom any further or fix the mess she had made. So much chaos had occurred in only a matter of days since she became Queen and the only way to remedy it was to leave &amp; allow nature to take its course. Because surely, winter would eventually come to an end—with or without the use of Elsa's magic.

_'So too will it to this land,' _she resolved._ 'Once I leave...' _

She had already decided that she had to leave the other day in the forest and knew that she needed to follow through with it soon, both for the sake of Chief Hiccup, and for her own. The big question now was: _When? _

Her question was answered in an instant as she turn to her right. She found Chief Hiccup now sitting on the seating chair, now wearing his casual clothes instead of his riding's suit, with his arms crossed against his chest, and much to her astonishment, was in a deep sleep, despite being upright against something so cold &amp; hard. Toothless laid behind him, curled up like a cat snoozing in front of the fireplace. They both looked so peaceful, so deep in their slumber, and she realised, with a pang, that this was her chance.

As she sat up, the former Queen had to bite her lip to prevent a pained groan from escaping her lips as she planted her bare feet on the cold ground. Looking down, she realised that her dress had a slit now, exposing her leg which was now bandaged.

_'Chief Hiccup, must have done it while I asleep...' _She thought, before lifting up the hem of her dress and was surprised to find her injured foot was now wrapped up as well. _'He's been looking after me, even though he knows what I am...'_

A strange sensation spread through her chest at the realisation and she couldn't help from feeling touched by the simple gestures, before guilt flooded her at the fact she wouldn't be able to thank him personally. She pondered briefly about leaving a note, but unfortunately, she didn't have any paper or ink and she certainly wasn't going to rummage through Chief Hiccup's personal items &amp; risk being caught red-handed. So she took a deep breath and carefully rose from her spot, not causing any more noise, before quickly tiptoeing across the icy floor and reaching the front door. She had noticed her shoes by the bed, however, she decided against retrieving them, knowing that she could easily make another pair.

Elsa pushed the door open quietly and turned her head back, hoping that it hadn't alerted the other two. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that they were still in deep slumber and completely oblivious to what was occurring.

_'Goodbye Chief Hiccup...' _She thought with a sad smile, watching as light from the fire bounced off the icy walls and shone on the young man's handsome features, it gave him a soft glow &amp; she couldn't help but think it was a shame that she never had someone like him as one of her suitors. _'These past few days have given me more joy than I've endured these last few years. Thank you, Hiccup, I wish you &amp; Toothless all the best and I hope you'll one day be able forgive yourself for what happened to your father and be to move on... you deserve it.'_

Stepping outside and closing the door behind her, Elsa felt the cool air hold her in a tight hold as if to say; "_Welcome, old friend" _and she couldn't suppress the shiver that promptly followed. Why? She wasn't sure, however, after all the warmth she had been surrounded in tonight, somehow it didn't feel right to embrace the cold so easily now.

* * *

The moment he heard the door close, Toothless opened his eyes. Looking over to the direction of the bed, his suspicions were confirmed—the ice maiden had left and he needed to follow.

_"Keep an eye on her if I fall asleep, okay?" Hiccup had said earlier that night as he sat down on the chair, watching the female with interest. _

_Toothless had cooed back softly, sad that they wouldn't be flying off._

_"I'm sorry, Bud." He continued, scratching the Night Fury's head, much to Toothless delight. He happily purred away, however, Hiccup soon pulled his hand away, much to dragon's displeasure. He looked at his friend and said, "I know we were supposed to be gone by now, but we can't leave her like this."_

_The dragon had crooned back in understanding, although he didn't like it, he respected the rider's decision._

_Nothing further was said._

Toothless didn't bother waking up his friend. The Viking had been so worried about the woman, with the way he paced back &amp; forth by the bed, to the way he would place his hand to her forehead to check her temperature and even to the way he would perk up when a noise would escape from Elsa. So his friend could definitely do with a rest.

He stretched up and used his paws to open the door. Once done, the dragon quickly slipped out and used one of his hind legs to close it behind him. His night vision and sense of smell allowed him to quickly locate his target, who was now walking across the frozen lake. She had a limp, still injured thus would make it easy to catch up.

He would not fail Hiccup.

* * *

Elsa groaned with each step and she realised that walking on a hard surface without any shoes was a ridiculous idea. Her foot was still tender, her leg still felt sore and she sorely wished that there was another escape route.

_'Except there isn't,' _her rational side pointed out. _'You can't walk through the forest. Even if you cover your tracks, by the time you get to the end of the island, it'll be close to sunrise and they'll surely have noticed your absence. Who knows? Toothless might even be able to track your scent...'_

That was a good point. After all, how were they even able to find her in the first place? In between her bouts of consciousness she remembered soft snow fall and thinking in her weakened state that she would be buried alive by her own magic &amp; how ironic it was that her natural instincts would be the cause her premature death. So how did they know where she was?

Of course, if she really wanted to the answers she could have simply asked Chief Hiccup, but that was simply out of the question. Although the young woman wanted nothing more to talk to the Viking and let him know how much she appreciate everything he had done these past few days, she couldn't bare to do so at the same time. She had exposed so much of herself in front of another person, Elsa didn't know how to deal with it—she was embarrassed, she was vulnerable and most importantly, she was _open_.

And she didn't know how to cope with that.

With a wave of her hand, her feet became encased in ice and had a pair of skates attached to them. Pleased with her handiwork, she waved her hand again, but this time pointed it to the frozen water and willed her magic to make her move. A blast of cold air escaped, pelting hard against the icy surface and within seconds, the former Queen was skating.

_'Well this is certainly one way of travelling. Definitely beats walking.'_ She mused to herself as she glided on the ice with perfect ease, even though she hadn't done so in such a long time; since the night of the accident in fact, when she was a little girl and still clueless about the danger she posed.

She inhaled the crisp air and looked up to the night sky, thinking how amazing this entire experience was. Even though she was sad to leave Chief Hiccup &amp; Toothless and her lonely home, she still couldn't help but be awed with the way the moon highlighted the mountain and how the frozen waterfalls shimmered, to the way wind ruffled her hair and carefully tugged at her clothes. The snow maiden turned her head back to see how the trail of her dress looked and if it was flying as beautifully through the wind as she imagined.

She certainly had not expected Toothless_ (and only Toothless, much to the snow maiden's dismay) _to be running across the frozen lake, approaching her at full speed.

An involuntary gasp left her and she halted herself immediately, despite her instincts screaming at her to do otherwise. Her heart pounded away, her stomach felt heavy and her throat felt tight, but she remained in her spot. Whether from confusion or from astonishment, Elsa couldn't pinpoint the irrational reason, however, she was curious. Why was he following her, without his rider? Was Chief Hiccup okay, or was he still asleep and unaware of what was going on?

_'Or has he decided this is the perfect time to finish me off?'_

The Night Fury wasn't too far away before he put his rear down and positioned himself in a sitting position in an attempt to slow his momentum. It worked because the next second he was slowly sliding in a somewhat sluggish manner over to the still woman and awkwardness soon followed, as Elsa flicked her eyes side-to-side, uncertain on how to react. And yet, the former Queen couldn't help but be mildly amused by the quirkiness of the situation.

However, it quickly diminished once the creature had reached its destination and her bemusement was replaced with worry. For whom, Elsa couldn't be sure—she could only hope it wouldn't result in any sort of bloodshed, completely aware of his wariness for her and the fact that he would not hesitate to intervene if she posed as a threat to him or Chief Hiccup.

"Toothless..." She addressed calmly albeit awkwardly, she was still trying to wrap her head around the peculiar name. "What are you doing here?"

The dragon looked at her with a thoughtful gaze before craning his neck back towards the hut which despite how far away they were from it at that moment, she could still make out due to the faint glow emanating from it, before turning back to her and flicked his head twice in that direction, as if to say—_"Go that way."_

"You want me to go back?" she asked carefully, feeling stunned, awed &amp; a little weary. She hadn't felt like this since she met Olaf and discovered she had inadvertently brought him to life.

Toothless nodded fiercely in response.

Well, she certainly hadn't expected _that._ She had expected the winged creature to be relieved at the prospect of her leaving his companion and would simply leave well enough alone, not chase her down and convince her to return. As glad as she was that the Night Fury didn't want to maul her and gorge on her corpse, _(really she needed to stop having such morbid thoughts) _the former Queen still needed to leave regardless of the black dragon's attempt.

"N-no, I can't. I have to go." The maiden shook her head, hoping to make her point clear. Turning away from the hut and away from the black dragon, she said; "I'm sorry."

Elsa was about to skate away again only to be instantly halted when she felt a harsh tug on the trail of her dress. Confusion flooded her which quickly turned to frustration when she looked over her shoulder to see that the Night Fury was responsible; holding the icy fabric down with one of his massive paws, thus preventing her from moving any further.

"Toothless, let go!" she exclaimed, however, the dragon did not budge. She grabbed the trail and started tugging, hoping it would come loose from the creature's grasp, but unfortunately it did not give. "I'm serious, you need to let me go! You shouldn't be here. You should be with Chief Hiccup, inside where it's warm &amp; safe."

_'And away from me...' _She finished sadly inside her head, although the Night Fury could probably hear it loud &amp; clear. And yet the creature huffed as if in disagreement. His nostrils flared and his pupils narrowed—clearly not willing to give in and the former Queen could feel an awful headache coming on. Despite having broken her fever, Elsa was still sore, exhausted and she'd rather not exert herself any more than necessary for the long journey ahead.

"Please understand," she said as she still tugged at her dress in vain. "I have to go. I have to leave. I have to go far, far away. I have to be alone. You can sense it, can't you? The trees, the water, the lack of life—it's all my doing..."

Elsa had read once that dragons were in-tune with nature and she knew that the Night Fury would have immediately sensed the disturbance since setting foot on this land; hence why she wasn't all too surprised by his aggressive reaction upon meeting her by the lake at then later on in the cave. Frightened yes, but not shocked.

"… and I don't know how to undo it." She admitted, feeling defeated as she did so.

She felt like a complete failure. For all the incredible things she could do, the former Queen didn't have a single clue how to even thaw her magic. The young woman tried so hard to keep it under control whilst growing up and it would seem like everything would finally fall into place, but then she would slip up, panic and somehow it would escalate quickly into disaster and her room would become a frozen wasteland. Her parents would find out and then she would be forced to watch the disappointed expressions etched across their tired faces as they tidied up her mistakes &amp; be reminded of the heavy burden she had unwillingly placed upon their already burdened shoulders.

"Please, I have to go..." She continued as she stared into the dragon's green reptilian eyes. They were so wide, curious &amp; innocent-like that it was hard to believe that this was the same creature she had encountered previously who was ready to rip her apart. "I'm a danger to everyone and everything that crosses my path—including Hiccup... and I can't let that happen. It's for the best. He has to stay away. He _has _to."

The moment those words escaped her lips, a silence followed and Toothless finally released his grip. The former Queen felt the trail of her dress finally loosen up and she thought that her heart would've leapt for joy at the small victory, however, disappointment quickly followed instead _(he was letting her go, of course he was—she was dangerous and a threat to his friend)_ but she reminded herself that this is what she had wanted and that this was for the best.

What she had not expected was for the Night Fury to suddenly scurry behind her and whack her backside with the full-force of his tail and sending her practically flying forward as a result.

Elsa let out a startled cry and she could only be grateful her reflexes conjured a soft snow pile for her to fall onto, otherwise she would've surely found herself face-first against the frozen ground with a bloodied nose &amp; probably missing a few teeth.

"What the Hell, Toothless?!" she exclaimed as she rose from the mound. Snow was now in her hair and on her bare shoulders, and although she had some more colourful words which she would have loved to express out loud, her regal upbringing caused the former Queen to restrain herself and start brushing off the powdery substance instead. As she did so, Elsa noticed _(much to her annoyance) _the dragon was rather unapologetic about his actions; he tilted his head to the side in a lopsided fashion and simply stared at her with big doe eyes as if to say—_"Who? Me? I'm completely innocent." _

"Useless reptile." She muttered, inadvertently adopting Chief Hiccup's choice of name for the black dragon and found herself empathising with the rugged rider.

_'At least I know now why he always calls him that.' _She thought, sending a glare over to the winged creature, but like before, he remained un-phased.

"It's not going to work. I'm not going back. I _can't_ go back." She spoke as she raked her fingers through her thick hair. Snow started to melt against her scalp, a chill quickly followed and she let out a small growl.

Even though the cold never bothered her before, she was irritated by its presence tonight.

_"The cold never bothered me anyway."_

It had always been there for as long as she could remember; sometimes it comforted her, sometimes it frightened her—but this was the first time it _angered_ her. Because it was always there, it never left her alone. It always reminded her of her mistakes, that she was different and that she was all alone...

_"I recommend we remove all magic. Even memories of magic. To be safe..."_

_"We'll lock the gates. We'll reduce the staff. We will limit her contact with people and keep her powers hidden from __**everyone**__. Including Anna."_

_"All you know is how to shut people out."_

_"Monster! __**MONSTER**__!"_

_"Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak &amp; cold. She said that you froze her heart. I tried to save her but it was too late—her skin was cold as ice, her hair turned white... your sister is dead. Because of you."_

_"Just please, don't throw away your life because you're consumed by guilt. It's pointless and it won't bring her back."_

_"The cold never bothered me anyway."_

Something in her snapped.

Before her mind could process what was occurring, Elsa found herself on the ground, ripping off her beautifully created ice skates, standing back up and then hurling them as far as her weakened body could muster. She watched them collided against the frozen lake and shatter into a dozen pieces and yet, it did nothing to quell this sudden _(burning!) _rage. Her chest heaved, her hands shook &amp; trembled and she wanted to rip her dress off and then scream at all the injustices she's had to endure in this life.

_"The cold never bothered me anyway."_

Just because it didn't bother her, didn't automatically mean she had to like it.

"I can't go back," she repeated again after a long moment of silence. From the corner of her eye, she noticed how strangely lax Toothless was, given her temper tantrum. Looking over to his direction, the snow maiden was surprised to see the dragon remained still and had a contemplative look on its features—staring directly at her without the slightest trace of malice. It encouraged her to go on. "I've hurt a lot of people, good people... people who had done nothing wrong to get caught in the crossfire. I hate myself for it."

She found it painfully ironic that she could easily spill this out all to the ancient creature without feeling so choked up or like she was being judged. Probably because he couldn't talk back in her language and give her his own opinion, or because he was somewhat of a stranger who didn't know her all too well—but she didn't care, she was grateful she could say this out loud without any sort of struggle. She could finally say whatever she wanted without having to endure any false reassurances or frightened stares.

"If I go back, there's a chance I might hurt Chief Hiccup and I can't bear the thought..."

She was so tired of it—tired of denying &amp; living in shame, tired of running &amp; hiding, tired of hurting &amp; mourning, tired of living in fear &amp; resentment, tired of keeping her walls up &amp; pushing everyone away, tired of _everything_.

"I don't want to hurt him." Elsa finished, keeping her hands clutched tightly against her chest and closing her blue eyes shut—all anger now gone, replaced with exhaustion and despair. She then uttered quietly, "I want to protect him."

What was she saying? What was she thinking? Was any of this even making sense? Her thoughts and feelings were so jumbled up at that present moment; she didn't know what to do or feel any more. All she knew was that she was _tired_ and that she wanted to go home. Where that was, she didn't have a clue. She was lost and she didn't have a single idea on the direction she needed to go.

She heard some shuffling which prompted the fair woman to slowly open her eyes and she saw ,to her complete astonishment, the Night Fury had closed the distance between them and was now sitting before her with a gentle expression. He leaned his heads towards her in anticipation and Elsa looked at the creature in confusion, unsure what the dragon was trying to do until she remembered Chief Hiccup's instructions.

_"Now just stretch out your hand and let him touch it, without making any eye contact. It's the only way you can gain his trust." _

No, that couldn't be what he was trying to make her do, surely. No way. She had ruined so many lives, taken so many and hurt so many more. She was a danger, a threat, an abomination, a killer, a monster...

She was no good. Toothless knew that, that's why he kept his distance and looked at her with disdain when he first met her. Animal instincts are never wrong. So it didn't make sense. How could he be so willing trust her right now when she didn't even trust herself?

_"You'll be fine, Elsa." _

Her eyes stung as she remembered her father's last words; oh Lord, they had been so warm &amp; encouraging that it was hard to believe they came from the same man, the man who decided to isolate his daughters from the rest of the world and forced his eldest to conceal herself in her room, simply because one of accident.

Many times she had resented her parents for the decisions; yes, she could understand why she needed to hide away, but why did Anna have to suffer as well? Why couldn't Anna be permitted to go outside and wander through the town, or play with the other children? Why did she have to spend her birthdays alone outside Elsa's locked door? Why did she have to go to their parents' funeral _alone_?

Sometimes, she even hated them, as shameful as it was to admit it and yet, the fact that King Adgar said those few words to his daughter with such faith _(that he actually believed in her that moment) _gave her a strength she had forgotten existed, as Elsa all of a sudden raised a shaky hand towards Toothless. She quickly diverted her direction to the ground and bit her lip nervously.

_'What on earth are you doing?!' _The rational part of her screamed. _'There's no way he'll trust you—you're dangerous... a monster, remember? A threat to his rider, surely you don't think he'll actually reciprocate? What are you hoping to achieve?'_

The snow maiden wasn't entirely sure what to expect as she waited for his reaction with her heart hammering away like crazy, but at least there wasn't any frost or snow in sight and she considered that to be an upside. Elsa braced herself for a growl of displeasure or for searing pain and listening to the awful crunching of bones as the Night Fury bit her hand off, but instead of either, she felt something else. Something warm and gentle pushing against her trembling, cold palm and she looked up instantly, wondering if she had been imagining things.

_'What...? Surely not...' _She thought in disbelief.

The former Queen was stunned to realise that instead of receiving rejection like she had been initially expecting, Toothless had actually nudged his head against her hand. He slowly pulled back, to look directly at her and she did an intake of air as she saw the kindness reflected in those big green eyes. It shone so brightly, so brilliantly, so beautifully _(so much like his rider's)._ In that instant, Elsa felt her heart leap in a way she hadn't experienced in a very, very long time.

And suddenly, she didn't feel as cold as before.

A small smile broke onto her face at the sudden feeling and she couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. Is this what it felt like to bond with a dragon? It certainly was an enlivening experience, and she could understand now why Chief Hiccup was so adamant for her to do so earlier. She felt more relaxed and realised that her irrational fear towards the Night Fury was unjustified—as silly as it may seem. Even though he might be a dragon, he was still a living, breathing creature with a beating heart and with many things he wanted to hold and protect and love.

So how could she possibly be afraid of that?

"Alright, you win." The snow maiden said admitting her defeat as gracefully as she had been raised to do so. "I guess this means I have to go back now, right?"

The dragon nodded in confirmation and he let out a warble, obviously pleased with his handiwork.

Turning to the direction of the hut, Elsa clasped her hands to her chest and took a deep inhale, trying to shake her apprehension; while she didn't mind the idea of going back whatsoever, the former Queen was worried about the morning to come.

Chief Hiccup would eventually wake up, they would have to talk and she knew without a doubt, he would want answers to questions she had given him to ponder over the previous night. Because even though she hadn't known him that long, she knew that the Viking was a thinker, curious too, and someone who didn't give up easily. He was someone who would keep searching _(high and low, through thick and thin, in rain or shine) _until he got the answers he was searching for.

And Elsa could only hope he wouldn't fear her when he found out.

A croon could be heard and a gentle nudge on her thigh snapped her out of her musings. Looking down, she saw two big green eyes staring up at her and the young woman came to a sudden realisation: if this ancient creature, who first looked at her with distrust &amp; disdain and knew all of what she was capable could look at her with such kindness and affection as he was right now...

Then surely, she couldn't be that bad of a person. Right?

* * *

Toothless watched the conflict etched across Elsa's face as she stared at the hut and he knew that he had to help her, because despite of what she could do—she wasn't a bad person. He'd met lots of bad people in his life; from bloodthirsty Vikings, to Alvin and to Drago—each reeked of death, carnage &amp; violence, and all marvelled at thought of creating such destruction—but Elsa wasn't like that.

She carried the scent of sadness, loneliness &amp; hardship, and although she could do something that was unlike other humans, she was frightened by it. He could tell from the way she distanced herself from both him and Hiccup, despite his friend's careful efforts to approach her, too afraid to get close and Toothless could only be glad. He wanted to protect his rider _(he's lost so much over these past few years, he doesn't need to suffer any more)_ but unfortunately, Hiccup was what fellow humans deemed _"__stubborn as a mule"_ and instead of listening to his survival instincts, the Viking kept trying to befriend the woman.

The dragon couldn't understand his friend's need at first—why befriend someone who could be the death of you? But Hiccup was a human and they never ceased to both amaze &amp; confuse him.

_"I'm a danger to everyone and everything that crosses my path—including Hiccup... and I can't let that happen. It's for the best. He has to stay away. He __**has**__ to."_

He had certainly not expected Elsa to leave the nice warm cabin to venture out, still injured and ill. Toothless couldn't understand why, so he decided to follow, because if he didn't, the dragon knew his friend would wake up in a panic and begin frantically searching. He would completely disregard all fatigue and hunger until he finally found her. The Night Fury couldn't allow that.

Catching up to her was easy, getting her back was difficult. She was just as stubborn as his rider and he didn't know how to convince to return.

_"If I go back, there's a chance I might hurt Chief Hiccup and I can't bear the thought... I don't want to hurt him. I want to protect him."_

When she said that, Toothless realised that she wanted to protect Hiccup as much as he wanted to and he couldn't find himself to be afraid any more.

So he leaned forward, offering his trust, and she accepted.

The Night Fury watched the woman's eyes light up with something akin to awe and he knew he did the right thing.

However, she was hesitant to return and the dragon could sense her apprehension. He let out a croon and nudged his head against her, hoping to reassure the woman. She looked down and relief took over her small form.

"Sorry," she spoke softly. "It's just... are you sure I should go back? What if I hurt him?"

Hiccup wouldn't get hurt. Hiccup would defend himself and if he couldn't, then Toothless would be there to protect him.

The dragon nudged his head again, gently pushing her forward. She stumbled and she let out a pained gasp, it alerted him.

"Ouch!" She lifted the hem of her dress to look at her bare feet, one of which was still wrapped up. "I forgot about that... No matter."

Elsa started walking slowly, but it was an awful limp. There would be a gasp or a grunt that would come out of her every few steps, until the Night Fury decided to do something about it. Moving over to her right side, he brushed himself up against the woman and then very carefully wrapped his tail around her waist. Then he felt hands linger across his shoulder blades which eventually got a better grasp and he heard a quiet, "Thank you."

They continued like that in silence: her using him as a support to take weight off her injured foot and him patiently following alongside. It reminded Toothless of when he did this for Hiccup after he lost his foot. His friend lost something important just like he did with his tailfin, and yet, it never stopped him _(them)_ from moving on and growing stronger together.

It took a while, but they got back to the hut. Elsa opened the door without a sound and they quickly entered the nice warm room, the dragon went over to his friend and saw that he was still sleeping.

"I suppose I should be doing the same." She said softly, walking over to the bed. Settling down on it, she wrapped Hiccup's blanket around her and spoke again, "Thank you for stopping me. It was silly and rude, considering all you and Chief Hiccup have done for me these past few days. You both deserve much more, so I'm sorry. Thanks again... Toothless."

His ears perked up. This wasn't the first time she had said his name, but it was the first time it didn't sound awkward. He liked it.

The Night Fury cooed softly, to show his appreciation and the woman smiled. It was gentle and warm like his rider's and he decided he liked that too.

"Good-night." She said before nuzzling into blanket and drifting off to sleep. As he watched the small woman slumber, Toothless found himself following suit and decided that he was glad to have followed Elsa.

He rather liked his new friend.

* * *

_Author's Note: And that's another Chapter done for **"Thaw Slowly"** so what did everyone think? Liked it, hated it, thought that Toothless sliding over to Elsa was comical? But in all honesty, please give me feedback - especially on Toothless' perspective, because I wanted to keep him in character as much as possible without making him sound like a human. If you know what I mean..._

_Anyway, onto reviews: OMG 60?! I'M ON 60?! WOOOO! I'm thrilled, so thank you guys for taking the time to read this humble little fic and give me your honest opinion. I do appreciate it and please keep writing - I love getting your messages._

_I would also like to take the time to mention that this whole story has now been re-edited thanks to the good efforts of **Maxaro** and let me tell you, the amount of editing of this entire story he did in such a short time is amazing! So thank you, **Maxaro**, for taking the time to work on this story, I really appreciate it._

_Another shout out to **TheWritingFactory** as always for putting in great ideas into this story (Elsa throwing her ice skates was one) and helping to make it become more epic!_

_And one more shout out to **Margaret Helstone** for making **"Thaw Slowly"** the trailer on youtube. If you guys haven't seen it yet - do it! So awesome, I've watched it so many times, I lost count. Seriously, watching it makes me want more and then I remember that I'm the one actually writing the story, so it's a real honour to have this recognised. _

_With my two beta-readers, MV director and all you guys as my readers &amp; reviewers, I know we can make this epic._

_Until next time, Water-Star. _


	8. Don't get too close - it's dark inside

_I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you_  
_But with the beast inside—there's nowhere we can hide_  
_No matter what we breed—we still are made of greed_  
_This is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come_  
_When you feel my heat, look into my eyes_  
_It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide_  
_Don't get too close, it's dark inside_  
_It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide_

\- Imagine Dragons

* * *

When he awoke that morning, Hiccup vowed to never fall asleep on a chair again. Reason being; his neck and shoulders felt horribly stiff &amp; sore, and although he was used to sleeping on hard surfaces, doing it upright with no support for his head whatsoever was awkward and not worthwhile for a few meager hours of shut-eye.

__'____Aww what time is it?____' __He wondered, letting out a yawn and rubbing the morning grime from his eyes. Once done, the rider sluggishly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the soft light before finally staring out the window. Judging from the amount of light and the sky's pinkish hues, it would be a little after dawn which meant that Toothless would awake soon and demand to be taken on his morning flight.

Casting a glance to his right, the Viking had braced himself, expecting the Night Fury up &amp; ready to go. However, much to his surprise, the black dragon was still in slumber, curled up in a tight ball in front of the fireplace, in the exact place as the night before, and didn't appear close to waking up anytime soon.

Hiccup frowned in concern; usually his friend would be the first up, going leaps &amp; bounds and causing total destruction in his bedroom until he awoke.

__'____Hopefully he isn't coming down with something...____' __The Viking thought worriedly; he really couldn't handle another eel pox scenario. _'___Yes___, ___because ____that'____s ____something ____I ____definitely ____need ____right ____now___—___a____ rabid, unlimited fire-blasting Night Fury and a ____fever-ridden woman who can conjure ice &amp; snow, both in the same room and both with major trust issues. Sensational!____'__

Wow, practicing sarcasm was so ingrained into him now that even his __thoughts __couldn't be spared from his annoying trait. That was kind of depressing... and not to mention, a little irritating. He could see why his father and Gobber had always been annoyed by it.

The young Chief watched his friend, taking note of the way Toothless would inhale &amp; then exhale __(soft and without a hitch–good) __before placing a hand on the creature's forehead to check his temperature __(completely normal____—____also good) __and deciding that his dragon was most likely tired and was simply being too lazy to wake up.

Fine with Hiccup, he would use this opportunity to check up on Elsa. Carefully tiptoeing over to the bed, he immediately noticed her cheeks weren't so flushed as before and that she didn't look so pained compared to night before. Brushing his fingertips along her forehead, he was relieved to find that she had finally broken her fever and that her temperature had finally returned to normal. She actually looked __peaceful __and the sight of it brought a smile onto his lips.

__"I killed her. I killed my baby sister. It's all my fault... Oh Anna..."__

But it vanished the instant those words echoed through his mind.

__'____What a heavy burden to bear...____' __He thought sadly, feeling a powerful wave of empathy for the ice maiden.

No one should ever have to live with that sort of guilt; especially someone so young and who was already struggling enough as it was to control powers outside of nature's law—it really wasn't fair. Hiccup couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to harbour an ability on par with the Gods and then lose someone precious to you as a result.

The guilt alone would've driven him insane.

__"But I don't deserve to live, not after what I've done!"__

And it seemed that too had gotten to Elsa, because even though she had been delirious with fever, Hiccup could tell that the young woman had been sincere as she had said that. Looking back on it now, a lot of things suddenly made much more sense—from her isolation, her unattended injuries, her malnourished state, her desire to distance herself from personal interaction, and to the dark look in eyes...

__"Die...? Good. That's great, actually."__

Elsa wanted to die and she was willing to take any means necessary.

__"One less problem this world needs to deal with."__

Recalling those words was like a stab to the heart and Hiccup had to use all of his willpower to blink back the tears. To meet someone so burdened, so pained, so __broken, __who could no longer see the good of the world and had completely given up on themselves, to have given up on __living___..._

For the Viking, it was a horrible, helpless feeling.

He knew that he was taking this revelation a lot harder than necessary, for someone he'd only just met a few days prior, however, he couldn't help it. He'd always been more emotional than his friends growing up. While they all had their way of sorting it out quickly, __(either through violence, or destroying stuff, or through more violence) __Hiccup would brood for a while, sometimes days, until Toothless or Astrid __(sometimes both) __would whack him upside the head and snap him out of his funk.

His friends had always considered him the more sensitive one, the compassionate one, the odd one out, he'd always been different. The rider had seen it as both a blessing &amp; a curse—an important quality to possess as a leader, and yet, a real pain when it got in the way of doing what was right—and while they had teased him endlessly for it, the group never actually made him feel bad about it.

They weren't the smartest __(with the exception of Fishlegs, of course)__, however, they always knew when to play around and when to be tactful.

Astrid's death was one example.

The group knew that their Chief needed space and time to mourn without a village to worry about. So they all pitched in where they could; Snotlout volunteered to care for the dragons and keep the training arena in check, Tuffnut &amp; Ruffnut managed to patrol the village with their zippleback without starting _too_ many fires __(although it did help that Berk had a lot of fire-prevention stations)___, _and Fishlegs looked after any affairs that neither Gobber or Valka had any time for.

His friends had really helped him out during that dark time; they never pushed or pried into his feelings and, although he was grateful for it, they never brought up his wife any more. For them, any memory of her was taboo, recollecting stories with her involved were forbidden, just hearing her name alone would drain colour from their faces and Hiccup __hated ____it__, because they were acting as if she never existed.

And that hurt just as much.

__'____What do I do?____' __He wondered, although about Elsa's mental state or about Astrid's passing—he couldn't be sure. They were both difficult topics to approach and could both end in disaster if he wasn't too careful. He just wanted to walk away with his heart unscathed and not feel like a complete failure.

Something shifted behind him and Hiccup turned to find Toothless was now awake, his front legs stretched out whilst letting out a big yawn, before shaking off any stiffness and finally walking over to the Viking.

"Morning Bud." He said, glad that his concerns were for naught. "Sleep well?"

The dragon crooned and nodded in affirmation, he then directed his gaze onto the slumbering woman.

"I don't think she's going to awake for another hour or so. Do you wanna go for a flight in the meantime? It's been a few days since we've had a proper flight, so I'm sure you must be itching to go."

To his astonishment, the winged creature shook his head and made a noise the Chief would only associate as; __"Nuh-uh."__Instead, Toothless laid down again, this time in front of the bed, curled himself up into a ball and simply laid there.

__'____Well, I certainly ____di____dn't expected ___**_**that**_**___...____' __Hiccup mused. Suddenly an idea came to mind and he rummaged through his provisions, pulling out his sketchbook &amp; some charcoal. Sitting back down, the Viking started sketching the whole scene before him. He lost track of time of how long he sat there, so entranced by the Night Fury's sudden desire to stay by the fair maiden's side, enraptured at the way the soft sunlight filtered through the room and in complete awe of the way the golden rays reflected off of Elsa's wild blonde locks.

__'____Wait–___**_**blonde**_**___...?____' __He thought, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks with him._ '_No, I could've sworn it was lighter...____'__

The rider leaned forward for further inspection and he was stunned to realise it wasn't silvery white as he had originally thought—it was actually blonde! Not the kind he was accustomed to back at home of blazing gold and dirty straw, but much lighter, like the cool shade of platinum—one of strongest natural metals, and the Chief almost laughed out loud at the irony: a unique colour for a _very_ unique woman.

Still, it was weird. Had her hair gotten darker whilst they were sleeping, or had it always been that way and had he been too oblivious to notice until now?

__'____Snap out of it, Haddock!____' __His mind scolded him. _'___Why ____are ____you ____so ____fixated ____on ____her ____hair ____anyway? ____Even ____if ____it ____w____as ____darker___—___she ____doesn't ____resemble ____Astrid ____in ____the ____slightest___.___'__

Woah, where did __that ___thought _come from? One minute he's simply mulling something somewhat trivial, and the next, his mind is suddenly comparing her to his dead wife?! How messed up was that? He wasn't looking for a substitute—he wasn't looking for anyone, period. So why, _why_ would he randomly dare to make such an awful comparison?

__'____Because she's the only other person you've ever opened up to about your all insecurities as Chief and about how much you miss your father.____'__

That was true. He had told Astrid of the pain of losing Stoick, and although she sympathised, she didn't truly understand. The shield maiden still had both her parents when she was alive, so trying to explain the grief of losing someone you loved was like telling the beginning of a story and skipping straight to the epilogue without explaining the events in the middle, or why the story came to such a conclusion. You know something occurred in-between, but you won't understand until you experience it for yourself.

__"I lost both of my parents when I was eighteen..."__

Elsa understood. She understood it better than anyone. She had lost her parents at such a young age and then forced to lose her sister a few years later. It was unbelievably cruel and Hiccup could only wonder why the Gods would bestow such hardships all onto one poor soul.

It hardly seemed fair.

Then again, life was never fair. If it was; Hiccup would be at home with his wife &amp; child, his parents would still be together and he would finally know what it was like to have a real family.

But that simply wasn't meant to be.

Just then, a moan could be heard. It was soft and fleeting, however, it immediately caught the Viking's attention and he turned to the source, his heartbeat picking up in anticipation. Toothless must have heard it as well, because he instantly perked up from his snooze and quickly flicked his head towards the bed's occupant. Both waited eagerly for the fair maiden to awaken. Her eyes started to flutter beneath her eyelids and Hiccup had to hold back his excitement when they were finally revealed.

* * *

For the first time in forever, Elsa wasn't plagued by nightmares of death, or fear, or of the past. Instead, her sleep was a dreamless slumber and whatever she may have dreamt of must have been deemed irrelevant by her conscious because she couldn't remember a single thing.

It was the best sleep she's had in years.

Sadly, nothing lasted forever, and the former Queen soon found herself awakening. She struggled to open her eyes, still aching for more peaceful slumber, but eventually, her mind became too active to continue snoozing and Elsa was awake.

Two faces greeted her. The first being the handsome face of Chief Hiccup and the second being that of his loyal dragon, who seemed to be grinning ear-to-ear for some reason. She thought it was rather odd and pondered if she should be concerned, until she remembered what had transpired between them last night.

__'____Oh that's right, we became friends,____' __she recalled. _'_At least, I ___**_**think **_**___we became friends...____'__

She sincerely hoped that they had. Even though they had gotten off to a bad start, Elsa had found herself growing quite fond of the Night Fury and she knew it would mean a lot to the Viking if they could settle their differences and make peace.

__'____But then again, does it really matter now that you're better?____' __Her mind inquired.

No, it didn't. Now that she had broken her fever, Chief Hiccup &amp; Toothless had no reason to stay, and even though she hated the idea of saying good-bye, it was better do it now then have them stay any longer and get herself further attached to the quirky duo.

"Good morning, Lady Elsa." The rider spoke cheerfully, although he looked anything but. If she were to place a bet, the snow maiden would place all her money on exhaustion. No surprise considering how he had slept last night, and she felt a wave of guilt for occupying the bed which was originally conjured for his benefit. "How are you feeling today?"

"Good morning, Chief Hiccup." She responded cordially and sat up. "I'm feeling much better now."

"You look better," he said in agreement. "I checked your temperature before and it feels normal, so you've obviously broken your fever."

"That tea you fed me certainly works wonders." She replied, before crinkling her nose. "Although I found it to be rather bitter."

He chuckled in response. "Oh yeah, it's awful but effective."

"I'll say; I felt completely fine around midnight. My fever's gone and both my leg &amp; foot are completely healed, I'm fine."

That was partially true; her fever might have broken, but her leg &amp; foot still felt sore and tender. She didn't like lying, however, she didn't want to worry the young Chief. They would need to return back to Berk and it would be selfish of her to prolong the inevitable.

"Both of them?" He blinked owlishly, looking vaguely surprised. "That's amazing considering your cuts were seriously infected last time I checked. You don't mind if I have a look at it then?"

"That won't be necessary, Chief Hiccup, as I already checked last night. They've healed quite nicely." She lied easily __(too eas____ily____ for her liking...)__

Now he looked sceptical. Great.

"I only put salt water on those wounds," he said. "And even though it's quite effective—one dosage isn't enough to completely get rid of such a severe infection."

A small dose of panic stabbed her and Elsa could only thank her many years of upholding a façade for managing to keep her cool composure.

"Well, I'm an exceptionally fast healer as you can see." She replied breezily.

"So you're saying that you're completely fine." He said, as if trying to humour her.

"I'm fine," she shot back. "I've never been better, actually, so thank you. I owe you a great debt."

Unfortunately for Elsa, neither the Viking or the Night Fury didn't seem to believe her, both shooting a look at one another, and it certainly didn't help when Toothless decided to lightly poke her sore leg with his tail causing her to let out an awful gasp before biting her lip and clutching her injured limb.

"Toothless!" the Viking scolded, although he didn't look at all upset. If anything, she would say he was actually expecting it.

"What on earth was _that_ _for_, Toothless?!" Elsa exclaimed, shooting the dragon an irritated look before continuing; "You know that it'd be sore, especially after last night!"

A somewhat awkward silence followed __(at least to her it seemed that way) __causing her to glance to her right and once she saw the bemused look on the Chief's features, she immediately realised that they had both intentionally set her up. Annoyed at getting busted, she sent the Night Fury a dark glare, however, he simply rolled his eyes and warbled back at her in response. If she had to guess, it would be something along the lines of–__"Get over it."__

"Useless reptile," the former Queen muttered under her breath and vowed to get even.

Chief Hiccup raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by her comment. A sly grin quickly reached his features and a playful twinkle reached his green eyes as he said, "So I see you've bonded with Toothless."

Elsa hadn't expected the Viking to say that, although she shouldn't be all that surprised. He was an exceptionally observant person and it would be pretty hard for him not to notice the lighter mood between both her and his dragon. Before there was a strong sense of caution, a boundary, a certain tension—but now the atmosphere was calmer and __(dare she say it?) __playful.

"You could say that..." She offered, still somewhat irritated.

The Night Fury gave her big doe eyes and cocked his head, trying to be cute as if to say; __"How can you be cranky at something as adorable as me?" __and the snow maiden was reluctant to admit that his tactic was working. Admitting defeat again for the second time in less than 24 hours, she reached out her hand to pat his head. She wondered briefly if it was still too soon in their friendship, however, the creature paid no mind and responded instantly. He brought his head up to her small hand and rubbing against her, purring in delight as she slowly started scratching behind his ear. He once again reminded her of a cat and she couldn't help from being amused at the prospect.

All irritation now gone, she mentioned quietly, "He certainly knows how to get under your skin."

The young Chief chuckled again and Elsa decided that she liked hearing it. The sound was soft, sweet &amp; addictive—and it made her feel like she could do something right for once, that she could evoke something out of another human being other than fear or disappointment. It was a good feeling.

"Oh yeah, he's good for that." The rider said in agreement. "Half the time he makes me want to rip my hair out and the other half makes me wonder if he's a sadist by nature."

"Definitely a sadist, he took way too much pleasure in holding the train of my dress at ransom." She said offhandedly as she started making her way under his chin. The former Queen had just reached a certain spot, when all of a sudden, Toothless moaned and flopped onto his back, flat out on the ground looking utterly content. She looked at the creature in astonishment, and then at Chief Hiccup, before asking; "What did I just do?"

"He loves when you scratch under his chin, especially when you get right underneath his jaw-line." He answered with an amused grin, however, it melted and turned into a puzzled stare. "You mentioned that he held onto your dress as ransom—when did he do that?"

Elsa's eyes widened as she realised her error and she mentally cursed herself for being so reckless with her words. She had definitely put her foot in it and pondered briefly if she could quickly change the subject without rousing the Viking's curiosity. Although the snow maiden knew it was practically impossible, with the way her guilt was currently clawing at her conscious, demanding that she'd tell him the truth—that she had been too ashamed to face him in the morning after the way she behaved the night before. She had revealed a side that no one had ever seen before; a fragile, hurt soul who was so broken and frightened that she couldn't bare to face another day.

Not even her own sister had seen this part of Elsa in all eighteen years of her existence and yet, this stranger had in only a matter of days and it just didn't feel fair.

__"They say I have courage and I'm trying to, I'm right out here for you, just let me in..."__

Anna had sounded so tired, so hurt, so desperate that night of their parents' funeral that even thinking about it now would only bring tears to the former Queen's eyes. Even though she had been ignored for most of her life, was hurting just as much __(if not more) __as her big sister and had endured so many hardships as a result of Elsa's abilities—the younger Princess of Arendelle grew up to be a kind, selfless, courageous young woman who only wished to love and comfort her big sister, even though the snow maiden did not deserve it.

Oh how Elsa had wanted to rip open that door on that awful night, to have pulled her baby sibling into a tight cuddle, to have basked in all the love &amp; warmth which radiated from Anna's beautiful soul and to have erased all the heartache &amp; loneliness they both suffered. But as snowflakes fluttered through her cold bedroom, she was instantly reminded of the powers she possessed and the threat she posed to everyone around her and why she had to keep her door locked.

It chiselled away at her already brittle heart and she decided that night was more painful than when she actually received the news of her parents. Because Elsa had always known her parents would die eventually and had accepted it __(despite all its____'____ unpleasantness)__ at a very young age.

She just didn't think that she would have to endure it alone.

However, there was nothing she could do about it now. Her parents were gone, so was Anna, and only Chief Hiccup was here to listen to her woes and perhaps willing to bear a shoulder for her to cry on. It wasn't fair, but life never was, and for once, she just wanted not to be in denial. She wanted to be honest with someone about who she was and what she could do without having to be worried about being judged, or suffering the consequences, or hurting anyone.

But most importantly, Elsa just wanted to be accepted and not have to live in fear.

"I was going to run away last night..." She admitted quietly, ashamed of her actions. He looked at her in disbelief and it prompted her to continue; "When I woke up, I saw you asleep by the fireplace and I thought that it was better if I left without saying a word."

"… what?" Chief Hiccup said and the former Queen felt her chest tighten horribly as she noticed the hurt reflected in his gorgeous green eyes and she once again, cursed herself for her foolishness. "Like as in leave and never come back? … why?"

The snow maiden bit her lip and she decided then and there that she finally needed to kick the bad habit. Even though Elsa wanted to open up, she was still afraid of his response. He might be kind, but she didn't know him all too well and who knew how he'd react once she bared her soul to him? Still, she had to try because she couldn't keep going on like this—broken and burdened by a past she cannot change.

"Because I wanted to protect you."

His eyes widened and his jaw slackened in surprise. Somehow, seeing that made it easier for her to continue.

"When I was a little girl, Anna &amp; I used to be the best of friends..." she explained. "She absolutely loved my magic and even though we were supposed to be sleeping, she would always wake me up every night and say that the sky's awake so we had to play."

She giggled at the memory of her quirky sister, always being so dramatic. If she hadn't been a Princess, Anna would've certainly been a good actress.

"Of course, I was always too sleepy at that point so I would just ignore her. Unfortunately, she was very clever and would then ask me if I wanted to build a snowman, knowing that I was always eager to do so and we would sneak out of our room to play... We always went to biggest room in our home-"

Which was the throne room, but Elsa wasn't going to mention that.

"And I would release the magic and turn the entire place into a winter wonderland. One part was encased with ice so we could skate across it, another part had soft snow piles so we could go tobogganing and the rest was covered in snow so we could build a snowman. We would build one and I would always tell Anna that his name was Olaf and that he loved warm hugs."

"A snowman who loves warm hugs. Who would've thought?" Hiccup chuckled, clearly amused by the idea. He was probably still trying to figure out where she was heading with this story and what she had meant about protecting him, but he was patient enough not to pry. For that, she was grateful.

The former Queen chuckled as well before giving him a faint smile. "There's no one quite like Olaf; he's a very unique character indeed."

Although she wasn't sure how Chief Hiccup would react if she revealed that she had inadvertently brought Olaf to life. After all, creating life at any given moment is something only a God could do and never in her wildest dreams did she think that she could ever possess such an incredible ability. So the fact that Elsa could do such a thing __(not only once, but ___**_**twice**_**___) __so effortlessly, had left her both astounded and amazed.

__"He's just like the one we built as kids."__

She could still remember the tender expression etched across her younger sister's face as she bent down and put a hand on Olaf's shoulder, gazing at the snowman with a certain nostalgia; as if trying to recollect the missing pieces of a confusing puzzle—which in this case, were her original memories. Even if Anna couldn't vividly remember all the fun times they had before everything changed, Elsa was glad that the younger Princess still had happy memories to cling onto and to know that her older sister at one point wasn't always so cold &amp; distant.

The smile which had adorned the snow maiden's lips slipped away as she prepared herself to tell the next part of the story. A sombre mood took hold of the room and Chief Hiccup immediately noticed the change, his posture straightened as if bracing himself for what was to come.

"One night we were playing and we got this crazy notion to make snow mounds. Anna would jump on one while I formed another. I kept making more, faster and faster, higher and higher—Anna kept leaping onto the next one, completely oblivious to the danger she was in. I couldn't keep up and I begged her to slow down, but she wouldn't listen and I slipped..."

She heard a sharp intake and the former Queen knew she should continue before the rider drew to the wrong conclusion.

"I fell to the floor and I couldn't make another mound in time, Anna leapt off the last one I conjured and I don't know what I was thinking, I was so panicked at the time that I struck her with my magic and hit her head. Fortunately, it threw her off course and she ended up landing on a soft pile of snow, but she didn't move. So I ran over to her and gathered her in my arms, but when I noticed a streak of her hair turned white, I realised that I had done something that couldn't be fixed."

Growing up, Elsa often had to avert her eyes whenever she was in Anna's presence because she always found too difficult to look at her sister's hair and be reminded of the reckless mistake which caused their rift.

"My parents quickly rushed in after hearing my cries and my father immediately knew where we had to go. So he took us to a valley inhabited by trolls-"

"Hold on!" Chief Hiccup interrupted, looking astounded. "Trolls? As in __real ____trolls?__ Actual trolls?"

"Of course they were real trolls." She answered, somewhat offended. "With dragons and my magic, is it really a stretch to believe trolls exist as well?"

"No, of course not!" He exclaimed, obviously embarrassed by his over-reaction. "Sorry, it's just that I used to wander through the woods of Berk searching for them as a boy, but I never found any and thought that they simply didn't exist. If you don't mind me asking: what do they look like?"

"Rocks." She simply replied, a little annoyed to be cut off at such an important part. "I think we're getting off the topic here."

"Right! Sorry..." He said, at least having the decency to look sheepish. "I just can't believe trolls actually exist! I can't wait to tell Gobber when I get back. Sorry, sorry! Please continue..."

Despite her previous irritation, Elsa found it hard to be annoyed at the Viking when he was clearly interested in her story—Anna used to do the exact same thing whenever their mother would tell them a bedtime story before they had to live in separate rooms. Her baby sister had a terrible __(and yet somewhat endearing) __tendency of regularly interrupting the Queen's narration with questions &amp; theories and then would add her input on how the story __should have __turned out.

"Their leader appeared: a wise old troll who healed Anna within a blink of an eye..."

A relieved look appeared on Chief Hiccup's face...

"However..."

… and vanished the instant she said that.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but it did nothing to ease the tension in her chest. The next part was difficult, because for the snow maiden what had happened felt like the ultimate betrayal—for her, to be forced to hide her secret, and for Anna, being forced to forget. It should never have happened.

"The troll erased Anna's memories." She said, wrapping her arms around her torso. "She forgot that I could conjure ice &amp; snow and all our rendezvous were completely altered."

Opening her eyes again, she looked over to the rider and noticed the mixed expression etched across his face—shock, sadness, sympathy—it made her feel a little less brittle.

"The only thing she could remember was all the fun we would have..." She finished painfully.

She had always resented her parents for allowing the old troll to take away something precious from her sister without Anna's consent, but then again, what other option did they have? They had told their daughters time &amp; time again that playing with Elsa's magic was dangerous and if they weren't careful someone would get hurt—they were right and the younger Princess had to paid the price.

Wetting her lips, the former Queen started the next part of the story, dreading it already.

"The troll told me that my powers would only continue to grow and that while there was beauty to it, there was also great danger. He warned me that I needed to learn to control them and that fear would be my enemy." She recalled with perfect clarity. "I was so frightened by the declaration that my father immediately decided that in order to protect me, we had to close the gates of our home so we could no longer have any visitors, reduce our staff, limit my contact with people, and keep my powers hidden from everyone. Even Anna..."

"That's horrible!" The Chief exclaimed, looking appalled. "You have one accident and your parents decide you need to keep your powers a secret and that you should be hidden away from the entire world?! Talk about an over-reaction!"

Seeing his outburst made Elsa feel a bit better, because it reassured her that she had an actual reason for having always carried resentment towards her parents—that she wasn't acting like a spoiled brat who hadn't gotten her way, or a teenager who was simply lashing out at her parents because she was going through an awkward phase, but someone who might have actually been mistreated by her parents.

"It didn't get any better," she responded sadly. "The next day I was moved into my own room so I wouldn't accidentally use my magic in front of Anna. She followed me, but I closed on the door on her..."

The snow maiden could still remember the regret she felt in that moment and the hurt &amp; uncertainty etched across her baby sister's face whilst she stared at Elsa—waiting for a response, a reassurance, a promise, __something___._

Instead, she got only a locked door as her answer.

"After that, everything changed. I could no longer play with Anna, nor could I be her friend. I was simply her older sister, nothing more, but Anna refused to accept that. Everyday she would knock on my door asking if I wanted to build a snowman and I would always have to ignore her. It hurt, it really hurt always having to ignore her, but I always believed it was for the best." She continued, her blue eyes starting to glaze in regret. "I was so frightened by what had happened that I wanted to keep far away from her as possible so she would never get hurt again, or anyone else for that matter... however, Anna was exceptionally stubborn and would sit outside my locked door, sitting there for hours—even on all of her birthdays—until she fell asleep and was moved to her bed, or gave up."

__'____Breathe, Elsa, breathe...____' __Her mind encouraged. _'___Just keep going and don't stop____—____if you dwell on it too much, you'll re-open old wounds and never be able to finish this story.____'__

"The years rolled by and eventually Anna gave up. I was sad, but at the same time, I was so relieved. Every day my powers were growing stronger and it was becoming harder &amp; harder to control them, and I was becoming more &amp; more afraid. My parents gave me gloves to cover my hands, believing if I did so then I would be able to conceal my abilities... my father even came up with a little chant for me to use whenever I felt overwhelmed: __"Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show." __They did everything they could to try to calm the raging storm within my heart—but it was useless... after all, how can you tame something that's beyond your control?"

Simple, you can't. For years, Elsa had tried the best she could to keep her emotions and powers in check whilst at the same time trying to protect her family, be a good daughter, and preparing herself for the role of future Queen. However, with more pressures falling onto her already burdened shoulders and enduring day after day of loneliness &amp; fear—things got worse, Elsa would slip up and then she would become even more anxious and her powers would escalate to frightening new levels.

"I was so terrified by what I was becoming that I refused to leave my room for days on end." The snow maiden admitted, turning her in the direction of the window. "I didn't even step out for our parents' funeral..."

She closed her eyes in a mixture of shame and pain, refusing to see Chief Hiccup's reaction, too afraid to see his disgust or disapproval—because surely, he would be. After all, what kind of child wouldn't go to their parents funeral? It was disrespect at its finest.

Letting out a shaky exhale, she continued, "That night Anna came to my door... begging for me to let her in, but I just ignored her again. I couldn't. Instead, I just spent that entire night sitting by the door crying..."

As she opened her eyes again, Elsa noticed that her vision was a bit blurry, much to her embarrassment. Growing up as both a royal and a conjurer, she had been taught to rise above her emotions, to ignore them, to never reveal them to anyone else __(especially her fellow peers)__, nor must she shed tears.

__"For that is the defeat of the body by the heart." __Queen Idun quoted to her once, from a book written by one of their ancestors. __"Because for us, this thing called ____'____the heart____'____ can become nothing less than proof that one's existence has become superfluous."__

To be a Queen, it was vital to put the needs of the many before your own because that was her duty. She had to rule with a clear heart and an unburdened mind, however, Elsa ignored all these important teachings and managed to turn her kingdom into a frozen wasteland.

Her mother would certainly be rolling in her grave.

"That must have been hard," Chief Hiccup spoke softly after a long minute of silence. Turning to his direction, she noticed the solemn expression adorning his features and the woman felt a stab of guilt for having been responsible for it. "I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like growing up the way you have. I just..." He paused, obviously at a loss for words, not that she could fault him. "I just can't believe your parents would do that! Forcing your sister to forget, making you hide away, instilling __their __fears into you—that's just plain wrong! You and Anna shouldn't have been forced into a life of isolation because of one accident! What kind of parenting is __that__?!"

A rhetorical question, but it didn't stop Elsa from pondering on it. Even though she carried a lot of resentment towards them for the terrible decisions they made and for the lousy childhood she &amp; Anna had to endure as a result—in the end, she had to remind herself that they were still her Mama and Papa, who despite all their knowledge and wisdom, were still human and prone to making mistakes just like any other person. Yes they had a lot of misgivings, however, they still tried the best they could to raise their daughters, even under the most difficult of circumstances.

Besides, it was kind of hard to begrudge them now that they were no longer apart of this world.

"They made a lot of mistakes," she agreed. "But what other option did they have? One of their children was almost killed by the other one because that child possessed an ability they've never witnessed before, could not understand, nor control. They were desperate."

"That doesn't mean they had the right to deprive you of human contact, or force you to conceal your powers, just because of their own fears or doubts! If anything, they would have worsened the situation!" He rebutted vehemently, startling her. No one had ever spoken to her like that before __(with the exception of Anna, obviously)___—_so impassioned, so bold and so different from anyone else she had ever met, that the former Queen didn't know how to respond.

"Yes what happened to Anna was terrible and reckless, but they didn't have to take such drastic measures!" He continued, just as spirited. "I get that they were scared and trying to protect both of you—my dad was exactly the same—but accidents __happen__."

Elsa removed her arms from around her torso and quickly found her hands clutching __(almost clawing) __onto her chest, directly over her pounding heart—from the way he spoke, the way his jaw was set in determination and how his green eyes were alight with something she hadn't seen before—it shook her to the core, but she couldn't understand why.

__'____Because he's right,____' __her mind whispered. _'___And you know it.____'__

No, she was dangerous. A threat, a freak, a _**_**monster**_**__**—**_she reminded herself as she felt frost starting to coat her fingers and the room instantly becoming cooler.

She was who she was—nothing would ever change that.

__'____No, you can be ___**_**way **_**___more...____' __The voice in head continued, soft and kind—Elsa didn't think that could ever be possible.

What was happening to her?!

* * *

Hiccup could tell that his words were affecting Lady Elsa and although his rational side was screaming at him to shut up—he couldn't stop himself. He was just so __mad __to hear that someone's _parents_ could be that cruel and foolish! Why did she have to stay away from her sister? Why did she have stay in her room all the time and ignore Anna's heartfelt pleas? Why had they ingrained all their fears &amp; concerns onto her?

Seriously, what the Hel were they __thinking___?!_

"__Believe me___;_ my father refused to let me on the battlefield during dragon raids because I was too small, too careless and would risk the lives of myself &amp; the villagers, so he assigned me to a blacksmith apprenticeship to keep me safe." He said, unable to hold himself back. "But after the Red Death, dad realised that by trying to protect me, he was only holding me back from who __I was meant to be___."_

He noticed a snowflake drifting from the corner of his eye and the room's temperature dropping a degree or two, and he could only be grateful that Toothless didn't seem all that bothered by the sudden change. Then again, the Night Fury probably trusted the fair maiden enough or had gotten used to her reactions, he probably deemed it unnecessary to get involved unless it got dangerous.

Thank Thor.

"You should have been loved and nurtured." He continued softer, more gentle. "Not forced to live a life of fear..."

A silence washed over the room and the Chief noticed it had become warmer again, much to his relief. Not because he was frightened or intimidated, but he knew he had pushed the boundaries a bit too far. They might be on friendly terms, however, Lady Elsa was a reclusive woman who had probably never spoken to anyone about this before, and here he was shoving his opinions down her throat.

"I'm sorry," he said a minute later. "I'm not usually like this. I'm more of the passive-aggressive type."

"It's okay, you don't have to apologise." She replied, releasing the tight grip of her chest. "It's just... no one has said that before... my whole life I believed that my parents were right: that I had to grow up the way I did because that was the only option—I've never had anyone who said otherwise. It's... it's different. I can't explain it..."

"I get it: you've been confronted." Hiccup offered, seeing her entire form seized with conflict. "The same thing happened to me when I became friends with Toothless. My whole life I was raised to believe that dragons were nothing more than blood-thirsty creatures, but once I spent time with them and realised that they were completely different to how we imagined them—well, it's a lot to take in."

Elsa let out a chuckle and the Viking smiled, grateful to see her a little more at ease.

"You certainly have a way with words, Chief Hiccup." She said with a faint smile. "You hit the nail on the head. Well done."

"Eh, it's nothing." He replied sheepishly while shrugging his shoulders, a little embarrassed by the unexpected praise. "It's just after spending so much with dragons, you tend to get a good understanding of people."

"Empathy is an important quality to have as both a leader and a human," she offered kindly. "Not too many people care to understand their fellow being nowadays—most are either too blind-sided by their greed, fear or corruption—so treasure it."

"It sounds like you speak from personal experience." Hiccup pointed out, hoping that didn't come out as rude or snide.

A sad look washed over Lady Elsa's pretty features and he wanted to whack himself __(again) __for his careless words.

__'____Really on a roll today, Hiccup.____'__

"Of course, that's why I'm here." She answered with such melancholy that the rider felt his heart ache. "And why I want to protect you. You've been so kind to me, even though you know what I can do and seen it first-hand. No one else has ever bothered to try to talk to me, comfort me, understand me—Anna tried, but she's my sister so it doesn't really count. You're the first person whose treated me like a real human being, instead of a monster."

"Well, it's not hard." He replied, hoping to reassure her. "Because you're not a monster."

She let out a mirthless chuckle before shaking her head softly. "If only that were so," she said wistfully. "But I've done too much to prove otherwise... too many people have suffered because of this wretched curse. Even when I tried my best to hold it in, it still became unleashed and wreaked havoc on everything I loved. Anna tried to get close, even though she knew what I was capable of and died as a result."

Snowflakes appeared in the room again, drifting slowly &amp; softly around them, and it felt timeless. The rider would've been in awe in the beauty of it all had he not seen the broken expression __(too young to be carrying such a look) __etched across the fair maiden's young face.

"And that's why you and Toothless need to leave today." She told him, chilling him in a way which had nothing to do with the cold. "Leave and never come back. Forget you ever met me and move on with your life."

* * *

_Author's Notes (Take 2): Another one bites the dust! I would have had this up a few nights ago, except I ran out of internet credit and I was able to save my editing, which really irritated me because I had done a great Author's Note so I had to redo it again, hence Take 2. _

_So where to begin? How about we mention the fact that I got **16 reviews** for my last chapter! That is SO AMAZING guys! It fills me up with such joy and encourages me to push out these chapter as fast as possible. So thank you everyone, I really do appreciate it.  
_

_A big thanks for **TheWritingFactory** and **Maxaro** as well for putting in their time to message me, give me feedback, editing, support me and basically help me make this the best story it can be. Thanks guys - I'm so grateful to have you on my side :-) _

_Also, for you guys who don't know there's an actual trailer for this story on youtube by the lovely **Margaret Helstone**, so go check it out if you haven't! Type in **"Thaw Slowly Hiccelsa" **and you'll find it easily. It has over 2,800 views the last time I checked, so if you see it, leave a comment - she really deserves it. _

_Now time for trivia about this chapter: as you could tell, this was pretty much me venting my frustration towards Elsa's parents, because I'm gonna put it out there (and pardon me for saying so) but they really fucked up. You don't traumatise a child when they've messed up, you don't traumatise them or isolate them - you love &amp; encourage them and help them learn from their mistakes. Had this not been a Disney movie, Elsa &amp; Anna would definitely not been able to resolve their issues by the end of the movie and would both be in need of some serious counselling for quite some time. _

_So the quote about not crying by Queen Idun was not written by me. It actually belongs to Rukia Kuchiki from **"Bleach"** by Tite Kubo (I know, how very unoriginal), however, I really thought it was fitting for Elsa's mentality and something she would try to abide by as both a ruler &amp; a person. Because as much as I love Disney, they sugar coat life as a royal. It's not fun &amp; games - it's a responsibility and a great burden to bear, one of which should be dismissed so easily, but hey that's just me._

__Also the line: '____No, you can be ___**_**way **_**___more...____' is a homage to Hiro Hamada from **"Big Hero 6."** I really liked the way he said it with such conviction, it reminded me of a manga which once mentioned that scientists were romantics by nature, and after seeing this movie, I couldn't agree with more.  
__

__Anyway, enough of me for one day. Please review and give me your feedback - it really does motivate me to continue and honestly, I can't do it alone without your kind words and support.__

__Take care everyone. Until next time.__


	9. All is lost, hope remains

_And I've lost who I am and I can't understand_  
_Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love_  
_Without love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on_  
_But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning_  
_Who am I from the start - take me home to my heart_  
_Let me go and I will run, I will not be silenced_  
_All this time spent in vain - wasted years, wasted gain_  
_All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over_  
_There's a light, there's a sun, taking all shattered ones_  
_To the place we belong_  
_And his love will conquer_

\- Trading Yesterday

* * *

"… what?" Was all Hiccup could get out; like the air had been knocked out of his lungs and they were struggling to regain breath. He wondered if he heard correctly: leave? As in _now_? Even though she was still injured and on the verge of starvation? No way.

He looked at her with a mixture of hurt &amp; disbelief, hoping she was making some sort of awful joke _(because she couldn't possibly be serious, right?)__—_but as soon as he saw the severity in her bright blue eyes, he realised with a heavy heart that she wasn't kidding, which was even worse.

_'She won't survive if we go.' _He thought, causing a rush of white-hot panic to course through his veins in a way which he hadn't experienced since he watched Toothless fall into the icy water and almost drown whilst he was being taken by Cloudjumper._ 'She'll die and she won't even care.'_

Then, suddenly, an irrational anger kicked in at the thought, causing him to clench his jaw, his eyes to narrow and his voice to turn steely; "You expect us to leave just like that? You want me to go: _"Hey, see ya later, hope you have a nice life!" _when we both know that you'll continue living here alone, cold, hurt &amp; hungry?! Nuh-uh, not gonna happen. We're not going _anywhere_."

Leave and never come back? Forget he ever met her? It was a ridiculous _(not to mention, unbelievably cruel) _request to give to someone who only wanted to get close, to help. There was no way in Hel he was going to leave her in the state she was in. Not matter what she would say or do, he wasn't going. End of story.

"This isn't up for negotiation, Chief Haddock. This is a request," she said firmly. The broken expression which she had been wearing a few minutes prior was now gone and replaced with something cold and held a strong sense of authority, as if she was used to being in control and making difficult decisions without a shred of feeling. It bothered &amp; fascinated him all at once. How was that even possible? "I appreciate everything you've done for me, but it's now time for you to take your leave. Go before something happens to you or Toothless. Please."

"You think we're gonna leave just because you can conjure some ice &amp; snow?" He responded sharply to cover his hurt pride. "We can handle whatever you dish out."

They've dealt with dangerous situations on a regular basis—after all, he was a Viking and a dragon trainer; it was an occupational hazard. He's taken on the Red Death, monstrous Alphas, the lethal Screaming Death, crazed blood-thirsty maniacs and even trained Toothless! A friggin' Night Fury! Only one of the deadliest dragons on record! Did she really think that they were utterly helpless and totally incapable of looking after themselves?! As both a man and Viking, it was an awful blow to the ego.

"You don't understand, Chief Hiccup, I can't control my powers." She shot back, doing her best to keep herself composed. "I can't guarantee your safety."

"You don't have to worry about my safety! I can look after myself!" He argued, impassioned.

Damn it, this was so frustrating! Why? Why did she keep doing this? Why did she insist on keeping her distance from everyone?! Didn't know that she was only unnecessarily hurting herself and them in the process? Didn't she know that it wasn't the way to remedy the situation? Didn't she know that she was only further instilling fear into her already fearful, brittle heart?

"I'm not going to run away just because of your abilities! I'm not afraid of them, and neither should you be. So, please, don't shut me out!"

A whimper could be heard from Toothless and he quietly apologised, knowing he was starting to stress his friend.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Chief Hiccup." She warned, trying so hard to be composed, except Hiccup could see her restraint beginning to crack. "My parents knew that I was dangerous and were right to tell me to keep my distance."

"Your parents were _wrong _to think you needed to be shut away from the world because of one accident!" He protested impassioned. "They should have believed in you—not hindered you! I get that they were concerned for your well-being, but they taught you to be afraid of yourself because they were afraid of what you could do and that's wrong! Fear only breeds more fear and nothing will change if you let it dictate your life."

"No, you're the one that's wrong!" She argued back. "They had a good reason to be afraid. They knew exactly what I was capable of before I even realised it myself. I should have tried harder to conceal them; if I had then Anna would still be alive! That's why I have to be here, _alone. _So I can be who I am without hurting anybody!"

"No you don't, Elsa! I know whatever happened to your sister was awful and I know you'll never forgive yourself for it, but you don't have to keep suffering because of it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: don't throw away your life because you're consumed by guilt. It's pointless and it won't bring her back. You can only move on."

Snow swirled around them, the wind growing colder and stronger, but it did not deter the Chief. If anything, it spurred him on.

"No, you have to _go_." She said, clutching her hands against her chest again. "You're not safe here."

"You don't have to be alone any more, or keep your distance, or live in fear." He exclaimed desperately, as he placed one of his own hands against his pounding heart. "Because I'll be right here and I know we can figure this out. _T__ogether_."

Her eyes widened, as if in recollection of something, before she murmured; "Enough."

"You don't have to protect me-"

"Enough...!" Her voice was strained. She was close. To what, the Viking wasn't sure, but he could see that something in her was about to break and he could only hope it was for the better.

"-I'm not afraid!"

"I SAID ENOUGH, _ANNA_!"

Silence flooded the room and all momentum in his voice was now gone, completely stunned by Elsa's outburst. And it seemed to have the same effect on her too, because the ice maiden had a look of shock &amp; hurt on her face, as if she had been struck. She had been in a way and whatever irritation or frustration which he may have felt melted away in that instant.

_"You remind me of my sister, Anna." She spoke a moment later, breaking his depressing thoughts. A warm smile crept onto her face and reached into her blue eyes. This was the first he had actually __seen her being genuine and he couldn't help __from __noticing __how __his __heart __had __skipped __a __beat__. "__She __tended to be awkward and a bit goofy, but she was kind and always eager to meet new people."_

"I froze her heart..." She uttered, it was clipped, and cold, and _bitter—_like he was during Astrid's funeral whenever someone would try to talk to or console him. "I didn't mean for it to happen, I was just so scared at the time and she tried to get close... her skin was like ice and her hair turned white... and then she became a solid block of ice. I didn't think it was possible, it just didn't seem possible; she was the warmest person I had ever known... until I felt her frozen body in my arms."

"Elsa..." He whispered, realising now that perhaps he should have approached her more carefully instead of causing the young woman to inadvertently reopen barely healed wounds. It hurt, hearing her say her sister's name instead of his own, but at least now he knew exactly why she felt so determined to protect him.

_'Because I remind her of Anna...' _He thought solemnly._ '__I remind her of a sister whom she loved dearly and __who__ was taken by her own hands. She's haunted by her past and she's chasing ghosts...'_

It was an unsettling realisation and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. All he could feel was sympathy for the fair maiden and he wondered what Lady Elsa could have ever done to deserve such cruelty from the Gods.

"That's why you have to go. Please..." She looked up at him as she made her plea, with eyes so vulnerable, so broken, and so _defeated_—he felt his heartstrings tugging harshly, causing him to ponder briefly if it was possible to die of heartache from another person's pain. "I can't bear if something happened to you too."

What could he say to that? What _should _he say? Usually he was so good with words and yet, somehow he just couldn't find anything.

_'__Sometimes the best solution isn't giving a few thoughtful words, but rather, just hold them and be there as they fall apart.__' _His mind offered him, and thus, Hiccup reached out a hand to touch her bare shoulder, hoping to provide some sort of comfort, anything to ease her sadness.

Except, Elsa realised what he was trying to do, and panic flashed through her blue eyes before she stumbled out of the bed in that instant. Hiccup immediately followed, leaping out of the chair and winced as he heard it clang against the frozen ground and noticed Toothless perking up from the corner of his eye, obviously concerned. Although for their safety or because things were starting to escalate into an uncertain _(hopefully not a worse-case) _scenario, the Chief couldn't be sure, but he just hoped he could remedy the situation before it got out of hand.

"No! Don't touch me!" she exclaimed, holding her hands out, as if it would protect her. "I'll only hurt you!"

_'__No, you won't__.' _The Viking thought determinedly, as he ignored her warning and took a step forward, holding out his hand the way he always did when bonding with a dragon.

"Stay _there_!"

Then all of a sudden, several waist-high spikes of ice appeared out of the ground, instantly halting him. He let out a gasp, having not expected that and he heard a soft whimper from Toothless, as if betrayed. Hiccup looked at Lady Elsa for answers and judging from the look on her face, it had been intentional.

"I'm sorry, but please don't come any closer!" She pleaded, clearly upset by her actions. She looked like an injured animal frightened out of its mind as she started backing away towards the front door and Hiccup realised that she was clearly planning her exit route.

She was going to run.

_'Crap! Not good. Not good at all.' _He mused as he watched her gaze flick back &amp; forth between him and the door handle. His mind started analysing the best plausible solution to prevent her from escaping without causing any sort of panic. Even though he knew she wouldn't get far with her injuries and lightning-fast dragon by his side, the Chief didn't want her to further hurt herself.

Fortunately, the Night Fury must have sensed Elsa's intentions as well because he started creeping around the spikes and over towards the door, in a side-step fashion, obviously being just as careful as his friend.

"Stop! Stay back! Toothless!" Her voice trembled and the sound of creaking could be heard. He noticed cracks in the walls of the hut and that it was started turning darker causing Hiccup to sigh. Looked like they were back to square one... "Tell him to back off, Hiccup!"

"No, I won't." He said boldly, despite the brief happiness he felt when he heard her say his name without any sort of title _(he wanted to hear it more often)__—_he just wished it didn't sound desperate and it wasn't during the heat of a quarrel. "You must have come down with another fever or something, because you're delirious to think we're just gonna leave _or _let you go outside in the state you're in."

He could only blame his Viking heritage for his sheer stubbornness during this current situation, because at that moment all of his common sense was screaming at him to stop being an idiot, let her go and count his lucky stars that neither him or Toothless was harmed in the process. Perhaps it would have been the wiser choice and the more sane decision, except Hiccup had a tendency for choosing the stupid option, before opting for the crazy one should the former not work out.

"Don't be a fool!" She said, desperation laced in her words. "I'm only destined to bring misery to anyone unfortunate enough to come across my path—and I don't want you to get hurt, because you _will _if you stay here any longer!"

"No, I won't let that happen." He responded firmly. It sounded absurd and arrogant, and yet he knew Elsa wouldn't hurt him because he _wouldn't _let it happen—he was strong &amp; agile, and had the ability to calm even the deadliest dragons in mere moments—and with Toothless to watch his back, the Chief saw no reason for her keep her distance.

The ice maiden barked out a laugh, although it lacked any trace of humour. "What? You think you're invincible just because you have a dragon?!" She asked incredulously. "That's just reckless! You think you might have seen it all, but you couldn't even begin to imagine the things I'm capable of! Or what I've done!"

A shiver ran down his spine after she said that, but he refused to show it. For his sake or hers, he couldn't be sure, except he couldn't bare the idea of letting the fair maiden think he was scared of her, because he wasn't.

_"Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with." _His father had warned him once and Hiccup had witnessed enough to know that the fair Lady Elsa wasn't someone to be afraid of. Maybe he was being too naive again, maybe she had committed horrible atrocities against humanity, maybe he should heed her warnings—but by Odin, he couldn't bring himself to be frightened of her. No way. Not when she trembled like that or carried such a remorseful, pained look and thought the only way she could atone for her mistakes was to live in isolation, consumed by misery until the end of her days. No way in Hel.

"I've done things far beyond redemption and that's why I need to be _alone_." She finished with such resolve, despite her eyes were shining with emotions and unshed tears. "I'm a monster, Hiccup. You'd do best to stay far away from me."

Toothless crooned sadly, obviously affected by the woman's sorrow and flicked his gaze over to Hiccup, waiting for the rider to respond.

All he could do in that moment was stand there and reflect over her words, before he came to the same conclusion he had known before: none of it mattered. Because Elsa was a lot of things—powerful, fierce, beautiful, reclusive, misguided, dazzling, cold and formal—but she was most certainly not a monster.

Because monsters are evil people who revel in death &amp; destruction, who cannot cry, love, or even feel, who have no shred of moral conscience or compassion, and who cannot be reasoned with. Just like Drago.

Of course, he would agree with her when she said he was being reckless to think she would not harm him and that he hadn't even seen her at her fullest potential, and yet, the young Chief just simply didn't _care_. He'd seen enough to know that she was a good person, a kind person, and even though he might have met her only a few days ago, Hiccup was more than happy to risk his safety to reach out and connect with her.

But more importantly, to show her she didn't need to shut herself away from the world and allow herself to be happy again, as stupid and crazy as it may seem.

So with this as his new resolve, he took a deep breath and a step to the left, carefully manoeuvring around the icy spikes and continued forward.

"Stay there! Stay back! I will strike!" The fair maiden exclaimed, trying to sound cold &amp; menacing, except he knew better. He could hear the fear in her voice and see the uncertainty in her trembling form, but what spurred him on the most was the sudden spark of hope which shined brightly in her beautiful blue eyes.

And Hiccup knew without a doubt, this would all be worth it in the end.

* * *

Elsa was afraid. Terrified actually. Because despite all of her threats and warnings, Chief Hiccup _(__brave, foolish, sweet, kind Hiccup__) _was still trying to approach her and it was making her feel something else _(something strong and powerful), something _she hadn't felt in long time: _hope_.

And that was the most frightening thing of all.

"I'm not afraid." He said as he took several steps towards her. "I'm not today, I wasn't three nights ago and I certainly won't be tomorrow—because you're not a monster and I know you won't hurt me."

She couldn't handle this.

"Please, just stay away! I just want to protect you!" She cried out, as she threw herself up against the door and started to blindly search for the door handle. She would've found it easily and fled the hut in an instant had her eyes not been so focused on his own—they literally took a hold of her. Because they were so intense, so impassioned, so _fearless_—it left her quaking in a way she hadn't experienced before. Oh Lord, she couldn't handle it! She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts &amp; feelings _(which were clawing away inside, threatening to let loose and rip her apart) _and she worried something would happen if she stayed in that room another minute longer.

_'Conceal, don't feel! Conceal, don't feel!' _She chanted within herself, hoping it would calm her, but it didn't.

It never did.

"I know you do, but you don't have to shut me out." He replied, completely undeterred by the storm which was beginning to brew outside the hut, or the cold wind swirling around them and banging against the window, or even the turmoil raging inside her heart. Damn it, he was getting closer and she was letting him! What was wrong with him? What was wrong with _her__? _"So please don't run away. Please don't keep your distance. Just let me in..."

Tears which were stinging her eyes before were now swelling and clouding her vision. Her fingers became coated with frost again and her hands felt cold, like the ice she weaved so easily, and she clenched them tight.

"No, I'm dangerous. I'm no good. I'm a freak, a murderer, a _monster_..." She whimpered, feeling tired and defeated. Closing her eyes, she felt a tear sliding down her cheek and she shivered. "So please... just leave me alone, before you get hurt... please..."

She stood there trembling in agonising silence, letting herself fall apart again, except this time she felt a sudden warmth clutch around her fists, gently loosening them and fingers intertwining.

Startled, she snapped her eyes open and saw that her frost coated fingers were now intertwined with Hiccup's own. They were rough and scarred, but warm &amp; strong—she found a sudden adoration for them, as peculiar as it may have sounded. Then again, she was a pretty peculiar person.

"I'm not Anna." Hiccup said softly and she felt a stab of guilt &amp; shame. "And you're not a monster."

Those words, although simple and obvious, hit her harder than the force of the icy chandelier, which she managed to narrow avoid as it came crashing down during the invasion. She knew he wasn't Anna—it was cruel and absurd to think otherwise—and she was humiliated that she had made such a mistake, but she couldn't help it. Even though they looked nothing alike, their personalities were so similar, it gave the former Queen both a sense of comfort and dread.

So when they had been arguing earlier, all she had been envisioning was her baby sister and her back on the North Mountain right before she had ruined their lives and destroyed the most beautiful thing on earth.

_'That's not entirely true,' _her mind objected. _'__Hiccup's beautiful too—he's warm and kind, and so full of life—he shouldn't be overlooked so easily.'_

Yes, that was true. The Chief of Berk was an outstanding exception, which was rather funny in an ironic sort of fashion, because never had she imagined that anyone could be nearly as wonderful or she could hold in such a high regard as the younger Princess of Arendelle. To Elsa, her little sister had been the most important person in her cold, lonely world. There were her parents whom she respected and admired, of course, but after years of forced isolation, the snow maiden had come to idolise them less and less as time went by.

She loved them dearly, but she couldn't forgive them causing such a rift between her &amp; Anna.

_'And yet, can you totally blame them? They might have had a major factor for the first eighteen years of your life, but don't forget that you had a choice too.'_

No, she couldn't completely fault them. After all, she could have opened the door on the night of their funeral and welcomed Anna back into her life. They weren't there to stop her or give her orders—she was free to make her own decisions at that point, but she didn't. Instead, she let their misgivings continue to dictate her life until the coronation, and that was the biggest mistake she could have ever made.

If the former Queen could do it all again, she definitely would've. She would've been a better sister. She would've been lot more careful with her magic, been more firm with Anna and make sure she understood that she needed to listen her big sister when she was in danger &amp; that she needed to slow down. She would've regularly sneaked out of her room into Anna's during the middle of the night to head outside and make countless snowmen.

She would've ignored her mother's constant scoldings for attending her tutoring sessions with dishevelled blonde hair &amp; baggy eyes, and having the gall to fall asleep during her etiquette classes. And she most definitely would've argued with her father a lot more too, telling him that she understood her magic better than him and that she wasn't going to conceal her emotions or hide away just to ease his fears.

She would've done everything so differently.

_'But you can't,' _the voice said to her sadly._ '__The past is in the past, remember? You cannot erase your past, nor re-write it, but the least you could do is learn from your mistakes and ensure you do not repeat them again.'_

And thus, Elsa was desperate to keep her distance and to protect Chief Hiccup. To her, the dragon rider was her second chance to make things right, to redeem herself, and to save herself further heartache—because it would absolutely destroy her to see him suffer the same fate as Anna.

"You're not a monster." He repeated firmly and with such conviction.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it.

"Monsters are inhuman. They enjoy death and carnage. They hold no sense of love or compassion—only greed and hatred. They revel in other's fear and seek power in order to dominate the weak &amp; vulnerable... They kill others without a blink of an eye or any sort of moral dilemma..." He trailed off as his green eyes starting to glaze, as if reliving a painful memory and Elsa felt something swell within her.

The former Queen couldn't begin to imagine all the tragedies he might have witnessed as the life of a Viking, and yet, here he was—holding her hands with such care, with such tenderness; like she was just a normal girl and not someone who could summon winter in the blink of an eye, that it sparked something within her heart that spread through her entire being. Something warm and nostalgic, but something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

_'What is it?' _She wondered, until the grip on her fingers tightened and brought her back from her musings. She looked the Chief, who now wore a soft smile and the feeling grew stronger.

"I've seen enough of them to know that you're not one of them." He finished with such resolve; she couldn't help but be touched. "So please, don't shut me out. I know it's frightening, but believe me when I say that we can more than look after ourselves. So let us in, let us help, let us be your friends."

Pulling his hands away, he made a hugging gesture and gave her a charming grin. "So what do you say, Elsa? Will you give it a try?"

The snow maiden let out a choked chuckle and whatever restraint she might have had instantly vanished as threw herself into his open arms. Tears finally broke through, except this time they didn't drain her or threaten to overwhelm, instead it felt relaxing, cathartic, _liberating, _as she finally remembered just what it was like to touch another human being again.

_"I'm scared, it's getting stronger!"_

_"Getting upset only makes it worse. Calm down."_

_"No! Don't touch me! Please... I don't want to hurt you..."_

Her parents had looked absolutely heartbroken when she had said that, however, it was all she could do to protect them. They tried so hard to be there for their daughter, and yet, they could only do so much _(endure so much)__—_thus, they respected her wishes and kept their distance. After that, the former Queen refused to let anyone touch her, or go anywhere near her and covered every inch of skin _(even during the most unbearable summers),_ since she was absolutely terrified of the consequences. However, now as warm arms wrapped _(strongly &amp; securely) _around her and something started nuzzling against her hip with a content purr, she decided to Hell with it all, and that it wouldn't be so bad to let someone in.

Because she was only human and she was so tired of being alone.

Unbeknownst to her, the storm had finally stopped.

* * *

They stood there for a long time, the three of them; Toothless nuzzling against Elsa's hip and making soft coos every once in a while, the fair woman whose head was buried in the crook of Hiccup's neck as she continued to cry _(letting it all out) _and the rider who continued to hold onto her tightly.

The Night Fury pulled his head back a bit and looked up to his friend to see how he was reacting and was very pleased to see the Chief was now wearing a calm, content smile.

Even though he had been through so much the past few years, Hiccup was still the same Hiccup he met in those woods. He might be taller and stronger—but he was still the same good person who would stop at nothing to ease another's sufferings, no matter how dangerous or undeserving they may be.

Astrid described Hiccup as compassionate and the black dragon thought it was a fitting word for his friend. However, she also said that it would be also one of his greatest flaws and could lead him into a lot of trouble if he wasn't too careful. That's why the rider had always looked to her for guidance when he was struggling to make the right decision and she always managed to make things clearer for him.

That's one of the things Toothless missed the most about Astrid. She had always looked out for Hiccup when the Night Fury couldn't. She would talk to him and smack sense in him when he was being too stubborn to listen to anybody else, except now she was gone, and Hiccup was on his own.

He didn't talk about it much, but the dragon knew that his friend was still hurting from a lot of things—losing his mate, his unborn offspring and his father.

And yet, seeing the two humans embrace one another, Toothless knew that he'd be okay.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. And maybe, even though she had so many struggles of her own, maybe Elsa would be able to help heal the cracks in his heart and fix him.

Maybe.

* * *

_Author's Note: And we're done! Oh man, this took a lot out of me! If you thought last chapter was a feels trip, then grab your passport because this was feels expedition! Seriously, I'm exhausted and emotionally drained! Although, that might be because I found it to be a little repititive. Fortunately, **TheWritingFactory** was there to give me a few suggestions and **Maxaro** was there to edit my disorientation - with both them, this chapter was able to flow so thanks guys._

_So anyway, what did you guys think? Loved it? Hated it? Got emotional just reading it? ___Thought it was too short? _This was originally apart of the previous chapter, however, I really wanted to use the lyrics of **"Shattered"** by Trading Yesterday to convey Hiccup &amp; Elsa's emotions because I feel they were just written for these two, lol! Although I've seen a wonderful Elsa amv by **Scurvied** (very emotional, strongly recommend watching it), here's the link:  
_

_ www . youtube watch ? v = H1jsbUtsrNQ_

_I would love to make an AMV using this song or **"Fix you"** by Coldplay, but I'm not particularly great at video editing. Writing's definitely more of my thing._

_Now on a another note, I've something pretty awesome to tell you guys. I got a PM from **tiger1712** whose been so inspired by this fanfic that she actually made a WEBSITE of it! HOW COOL IS THAT! As you can tell, I'm excited and it's gotten me thinking that if anyone else is inspired by this story to get creative, let me know and we can put it on the website. It can be fanart, AMVs, poetry, ideas - ANYTHING! The link is on my profile if you want to check it out.  
_

_A big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter (and for this entire story in general) - seriously, you guys are AMAZING! I really wouldn't have been able to have gotten so far without your kind words and endless support; I really appreciate it. So in saying that, please review and I'll talk to you next time! _

_All the best, Water-Star._


	10. And I'll love the world, like I should

_My past has tasted bitter for years now,  
So I wield an iron fist  
Grace is just weakness; or so I've been told.  
I've been cold, I've been merciless  
But the blood on my hands scares me to death  
Maybe I'm waking up today  
I'll be good, I'll be good  
And I'll love the world, like I should  
I'll be good, I'll be good  
I'll be good, I'll be good  
For all of the light that I shut out  
For all of the innocent things that I've doubt  
For all of the bruises that I've caused and the tears  
For all of the things that I've done all these years  
Yeah, for all of the sparks that I've stomped out  
For all of the perfect things that I doubt  
_

\- Jaymes Young

* * *

Hiccup wasn't sure how long they stood there like that; with his arms wrapped tightly around Elsa as she continued to sob, and yet he didn't mind in the slightest, because he felt like he making a promise: to hold her up and help her when she couldn't keep herself up—and there wasn't a single force which could make him break that vow. After all the sadness and loneliness he could only begin to imagine she had endured over the years, the ice maiden definitely needed this and if he were to be honest, the rider found himself enjoying this way more than what should have been considered appropriate.

He would scold himself later for it, however, for now it at least gave him the opportunity to notice a few more things about Elsa and helped him to develop a better understanding of her. The first being that she smelled fantastic! Her scent was sweet &amp; crisp with a faint tinge of flora—it was a total opposite back home with his people smelling of body odour &amp; sea salt—and he wondered how someone could smell so fantastically __wonderful__. Seriously, it was addictive!

The second being her hair. He never noticed it before, but there were actual snowflakes woven into her cool blonde locks and holding her braid into place—it was quite lovely—and he idly wondered if any of the women back in Berk would be as entranced by it as he was.

His next thoughts were not so positive; being both about her weight and about her figure. Although he was already aware that she was malnourished, actually __feeling __it was another manner. She was so bony and light, he could probably snap her in half with little effort, and it absolutely _horrified_ him.

__'____She'll definitely need to eat at least three to four times day.____' __He thought, hoping he'd have enough of his rations to feed the two of them. If not, he would definitely need to go fishing regularly, or even possibly go hunting. Although that might be difficult considering that he still hadn't seen another living form wandering around the land.

And the final one was that despite her ability to conjure ice and snow, she was so warm __(incredibly so, and yet, for some reason her dress still felt cold. Weird...) __and it all the more re-established his belief that even though she had powers that surpassed other people, she was still an actual human being and not just some cold monster like she viewed herself as.

She was a human, not a monster and he'd guzzle an entire barrel of yak nog before saying otherwise.

Now if only he could convince her of this too.

__'____Well it's not going to be easy,____' __his mind informed him. _'___She's had this mentality ____drilled into her____ for years. You can't just shake it off with a few kind words and a hug.____'__

Unfortunately, that was true. The fair maiden been raised to be weary of herself and her abilities by her parents __(out of all the people to put such make her doubt herself____—____it had to be ___**_**them**_**___)__, had been living in isolation for Gods knows how long and had been carrying the crushing weight of Anna's death on her barely stable shoulders, and with no one to comfort or reassure her; it was no surprise why she was so desperate to keep Hiccup at arm's length.

__'____She needs to be constantly reminded that she isn't a monster and that she doesn't have to hide away from the world.____' __His thoughts continued, rationally and sensibly. _'___She just needs someone who will stay by her side and support her. She ____desperately____ needs a friend...____'__

Could he really do it? The friend part he had no trouble with, but what about the rest? Elsa was obviously traumatised by her past and had a lot of inner demons __(way too many) __to battle with and needed all the support she could get. However, whether he liked it or not, __(and he really, ___**_**really **_**___didn't like it) __the Chief needed to return to the village soon, otherwise Valka might decide to look for him and drag him back to Berk—and he'd rather not endure such an embarrassing situations, __especially __in front of Elsa.

He had already embarrassed himself enough these past few days without his mother's assistance and he would rather keep it that way.

So what could he do? What __should __he do? He really wanted to help the young woman, but he highly doubted they'd accomplish a lot in the next few days and if he left she would definitely leave the island and there was a big possibility he might not be able to find her again. Just the thought sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.

__'____Hey, don't think about it right now. Just take it one step at a time...____'__ a voice in his mind told him, and, if the rider didn't now better, he'd say that it almost sounded like it was Astrid's. Oh Odin help him. _'___You don't need to figure it all out at this ____very____ moment, just focus on ____the____ now and the rest will follow. You just have to believe everything will work out in the end.____'__

He wasn't sure how to react. Should he be comforted that his deceased wife might have just contacted him from beyond the grave, or be very concerned that his mind was mimicking Astrid's voice in an effort to comfort him and his sanity was now officially taking a turn for the worst? Whatever the cause was, he was grateful for the advice, because it was true—this wasn't some sort of training regime or battle tactic, this was someone's life he was dealing with! He couldn't plan or prepare for this. Instead, he would just have to take baby steps and let it go from there.

__'____Wish me luck...____'__ He sent a prayer to the Gods and his beloved, late wife, hoping they would guide him through without sparking some sort of disaster. _'___Here goes.____'__

Taking a deep breath, he said, "You feeling better now?"

It wasn't a very good question to ask; too broad and pointless, but it was a start.

Sniffling a few times, Elsa removed her arms from around him and moved her hands to his shoulders, gently pushing against them. Getting the hint, Hiccup reluctantly let her go __(after all, he had been enjoying the hug____—____he didn't get to have too many nowadays. Too old for that...) __and watched as she took a few steps back and started wiping away any stray tears. Even though she had been crying for quite a while and now had flushed cheeks &amp; glassy eyes, she was still a gorgeous creature.

"Mmm-hmm..." she replied, before biting her lip and shaking her head, obviously unappeased by her own answer. The fair maiden started to inhale and exhale, slowly &amp; carefully. She did a few times before she finally spoke quietly, "Yes... I feel much better than I expected. Thank you. Although..."

She looked away bashfully and her hands found their way to her braid. She mumbled, "I feel a little silly for reacting like that."

"Don't be." He responded softly before giving Elsa a sincere smile, hoping to reassure her. The corner of her lips quirked a bit, encouraging him to go on. "Don't conceal your emotions—if you want to laugh, then laugh. If you want to cry, then cry. It's not fair to you to do otherwise."

Deciding to inject some humour to lighten the mood, he also added, "Sometimes, you just need to let it all out—otherwise, you'll explode and go on a bloody rampage. Back home, my people decided the best method to shake off bad feelings is with an axe or mace and take it out with the first person they lay eyes on."

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to him that she was unaccustomed to Vikings' traits until he saw her blue eyes widen in alarm.

"Oh Lord, that sounds awful!" She exclaimed, looking rather horrified. "Are they really that barbaric?!"

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it __literally__!" He hurriedly replied, realising he probably shouldn't exaggerate so much. "Well, kind of... they just prefer hitting and destroying stuff in order to solve those types of problems! We're just very physical people."

"Berk doesn't sound like is a very safe place..." she muttered, not looking the least bit convinced by his explanation. Not that he could blame her. He would be pretty reluctant too had he not grown up there and become accustomed to the lifestyle. "From the sound of things, it's a wonder that it's still in one piece."

"More like a miracle." He quipped, wholeheartedly agreeing with her. Sometimes, the dragon tamer wondered how the Berkians had survived for so long as they had without resorting to raiding, pillaging or killing one another. He could only be grateful that despite all of his hotheadedness, Stoick was quite a rational man and knew how play peace-keeper without asserting his powers as Chief.

__"A Chief's first duty is to his people."__

That was one of the greatest things Hiccup admired about his father; because even though he was still heartbroken over the disappearance of Valka and reluctant to make peace with the dragons—he stayed passionate in his role as leader of the Berkians. He believed in doing what was right for his people, he reached out to his people and lead them to prosperity. Even at the expense of his own feelings of resentment, prejudice &amp; narrow-mindedness, Stoick rose above and decided to let go of the past and move on so that the island could benefit for the better.

Were it not for him, Berk would never have been as accepting of dragons as they were now.

"Do you do that too?" Elsa asked nervously, finally letting go of her hair only to clutch her hands together instead, "Go on a rampage, I mean."

"No," he answered with a shake of the head. "If I followed everyone else's example every time someone upset me, then Berk would be in a constant state of perpetual ruin. So I just take Toothless on a flight and then yell at the top of my lungs until I'm exhausted."

She blinked owlishly, "So you just scream out your frustrations and that's it?"

"No, no I __yell __out my frustrations." He corrected quickly __(a little too quickly) __for the sake of his male pride. "It's much manlier than screaming and very effective."

__'____Smooth Hiccup. Real smooth.____'__

"Oh really?" She asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. A look of bemusement took over her pretty features, surprising him. "So what does Toothless do while you're __yelling__?" She continued, annunciating out the last word playfully; obviously aware she had a struck a nerve and seemed clearly amused by the idea.

__'____Woah! Is she teasing me...?____' __He wondered, and yet, it excited him! _'_Does this mean she's ____finally____ opening up to me?____'__

"Oh you know, the usual..." he drawled out light-heartedly, playing along in good humour. "Quivering in absolute fear—completely at the mercy of my powerful, masculine roar—praying to the Gods he does not become a victim to my wrath! It's so frightening that even Thor whimpers in terror!"

He heard Toothless groan beside him and could already imagine the dragon rolling his eyes in exasperation at his friend's antics.

"Oh really?" She replied, trying her best to keep a straight face and hold in her laughter. Her cool blue eyes glittered with amusement and he felt his heart skip at a rapid rate. "And, do pray tell, what is it that makes it all so terrifying that even the God of Thunder and Lightning would tremble at the sound of your cries?"

__'____It's working!____' __He realised, positively giddy at the prospect. _'___Play it cool, Hiccup! No pun intended...____'__

"Well how could he __not___? _With all this raw muscle and deathly physique," he said, gesturing to himself and then flexing out his arms. "Who wouldn't tremble in my awesome presence—why, I'm practically impervious!"

In saying that, it was a real shame that Toothless decided to be a jerk at that moment and prove him wrong by smacking him upside the head with his tail, thus causing the Chief to stumble over his feet _(well, technically ___**foot**___)_ which lead to him falling spectacularly, face-first into the frozen ground—completely banishing any sort of dignity he might have had left.

_'Bloody dragon.'_

"Thank you, Toothless." He muttered sarcastically, in a pathetic effort to nurse his hurt pride. "You good-for-nothing reptile."

The Night Fury warbled, clearly amused by his friend's suffering—something he had already anticipated. However, what he had not expected was Elsa laughing too. Really laughing. It was different to the other day when he got splashed by the icy water __(once again, thanks to Toothless)___—_it had been restrained and polite, but this right now was less controlled and more joyous, more sincere. Hiccup looked up stunned, and saw the fair maiden clutching her sides, her eyes squeezed shut as tears started to flow and wearing one of the prettiest smiles he had ever witnessed.

Seeing her like this, a smile of his own broke out and found himself chuckling along.

__'____Thanks Bud...____' __He thought, this time sincerely, before looking over to his buddy and giving him a grateful nod. He turned his head back in her direction and watched as she continued to laugh. It didn't seem like she would stop any time soon, but he didn't mind; he was just grateful to see her lighten up and be happy for once.

Even if it was at his own expense...

* * *

Although the former Queen knew it was in poor taste to be laughing at someone's misery, she couldn't stop herself. It was just too hilarious! The last time she had done it, she had been with Anna when they were both giddy from the scent of chocolate and witnessed the Duke of Weaselton's toupee detach itself from his scalp, but their laughter had to be quickly restrained due to the fact that they were presence of nobles &amp; royalty and it would've been uncouth __(not to mention, horribly impolite) __for them to continue.

__'____Oh Lord, how did I survive this long?____' __She wondered, relishing the good feeling. She read once in a book that a day without laughter was a day wasted, and if that was the case, then she had practically wasted her life, because she certainly couldn't remember laughing like this.

At least, not in a very long time.

__'____Hiccup's right, if I want to laugh then I should laugh and if I want to cry then I should cry.____' __She realised as she felt tears gliding down her cheeks for the millionth time since meeting the Chief and Night Fury. _'___I won't conceal my feelings anymore.____'__

Her laughter eventually began to cease and was reduced to short giggles. Her sides ached and her cheeks were wet, but Elsa had never felt better. She opened her eyes and found Hiccup who was still laying on the ground, except was now staring at her and giving her one of the loveliest smiles she had ever witnessed and she couldn't help from returning the gesture.

"You're alright now?" He replied, looking charming as he did so.

"Never been better," she answered.

__'____I'm sorry Mama, Papa___—___I know that you only wanted to protect me, but I can't keep hiding from who I am.____' __She thought, but it wasn't bitter or sad like she had expected, just resigned. _'___Hiccup's right; it's not fair ____to____ me. I just hope you can understand that.____'__

Such a stunning realisation for her to have now after enduring so many years of fear &amp; isolation through her parents' upbringing. The snow maiden wondered how the rider could have such a powerful influence on her after only a matter of days, however, as she stared into his vibrant bright green eyes—she knew it wasn't important right now.

She was just glad to have a friend.

__'____Two actually,____' __her mind corrected. _'___Don't forget ____about____ Toothless.____'__

It would be exceptionally hard to forget the Night Fury, especially since he was currently using his tail to hoist the Chief up on his feet with perfect ease. He gave a short coo to the rider and nudged his head against him.

"I know, Bud." The Viking said, giving the dragon a rub behind his ears. "Thanks."

__'____The way they can understand and communicate to one another so naturally, even without words... ____i____ncredible...____'__ The fair maiden thought as she watched them interact. _'___I've never seen anything like it. They've been through so much, and yet their bond has only grown... ____i____f only it could have been like that for Anna &amp; I.____'__

No, she couldn't __(____**wouldn't**____) __think like that right now. Not when she was finally in a good mood and remembered what it was to laugh again. Not today.

__'____Forgive me, Anna for all the pain I ever caused you...____' __She thought solemnly, hoping her younger sister would hear her prayers. _'___What I did to you was despicable and unforgivable, but do you think it'd be okay for me to be happy again. Even ____if____ for just a few days...?____'__

And yet, Elsa knew it was pointless to wait for a reply or a sign. Because even though it felt wrong to admit it __(let alone accept it) __the former Queen knew deep down in her heart that Anna __(beautiful, fearless, self____l____ess Anna) __would want her to move on from the past, open up to someone and allow herself the chance to find joy—even if it couldn't be with her.

Still, she was scared. After so many years of shutting people out, it was only natural for her to put her defences up. What if she slipped up and accidentally struck either one with her magic? Or worse, killed them?

__'____I have to believe that everything will be okay.____' __She regarded in acceptance, although it did nothing to quell her nerves. _'___I have to have believe that they can defend and protect themselves. And I have to believe that I can do this...____'__

It was going to be one of the most difficult tasks she would ever have to endure—to let go of her defences, to relinquish all control of the situation, place her faith into another's hands, to open her heart and to __trus____t __herself. Just the thought was frightening, daunting and arduous all at once.

__'____Is it really possible?____'__

However, as she watched Hiccup divert his attention from Toothless and back onto her with those gorgeous, green eyes, giving her another one of his breath-taking grins, Elsa felt her heart beginning to pace and a smile of her own beginning to form.

Yes, she realised, it would definitely be worth it in the end.

"So, now that the storm has come and passed, shall we go outside to enjoy this beautiful day?" He suggested casually.

"Yes, I would very much like that."

The Viking rushed to the front door before she could even blink, and it held it open for her, gesturing for her to go first.

"Why thank you, Sir Haddock." The former Queen commended teasingly as she approached him. "You are a most gracious gentleman."

"Sir Haddock? Gracious gentleman?" He joked back, looking mildly appalled by such a title. "Wh-what is this uptight formality you speak with? It's horrendous, I say!"

She let out a heart-felt chuckle and deemed it unnecessary to respond, simply walking past him with the natural grace she had been blessed with to let the warm rays of the sun hit her as she exited the cabin.

The fair woman tilted her head up towards the sky and had to squint a little, unused to the brightness. She held her right hand up to cover then beaming sun and protect her sensitive eyes, but a moment passed and her eyes adjusted.

__'____What the...? How can th____is____ be?____'__

Lowering her hand, Elsa took a sharp intake of breath as she allowed her eyes to take in the sight of the now clear blue sky above her and the snow-laden land before her. It looked, it looked so... beautiful and gorgeous and so many other things that she wondered if she was in a completely different world.

__'____Even though we're still surrounded by ice and snow, I don't feel as cold as before...____'__ She mused with a serene smile, enjoying the warmth surrounding her entire body, how the soft snow glittered from the rays of sun, and how flawless &amp; shiny the frozen lake looked, as if made from pristine crystal. _'___Is it because of the sun? Or something else? Or has it always been like this and I've never noticed until now...?____'__

"It's so beautiful..." She murmured to herself in quiet awe and all of a sudden, a wave of gratitude overcame her.

Gratitude to know that she had a part in this.

Gratitude to have others witness it with her who bore no fear or ill will.

But most importantly, gratitude to still be __alive__.

__'____Thank you, Hiccup...____'__

"Yeah, it's amazing. Before now, I never realised how beautiful winter can be..." the Viking replied awestruck, as he took a step alongside her.

She glanced over and saw that he still had that dazzling grin on him, and, for some strange reason, it stirred something within her __(something warm ____&amp;____ foreign, and unbelievably comforting...)__ It made her want to laugh, dance, sing and do a million other joyful little things, but most of all, it made her want her to do everything within her power to ensure Hiccup could always smile like that—as reckless, childish, silly and impractical as it may have sounded.

__'____This feeling...____'__ the former Queen reflected as she gazed into the Chief's kind green eyes and noted how adorable he looked with all his freckles when he smiled. _'___It's so similar to how I fe____lt____ with Anna, and yet nothing like that at all. How is that possible?____'__

A good question, but one she could not answer. Elsa wasn't certain; she wasn't good with feelings. She used to be once when she was younger and unburdened by fear or responsibility, but because her parents constantly encouraging her to suppress her powers __(and hence affecting her temperament) __up until their deaths, she essentially forgot what it was like to feel. Even when she received the news of their fate, she was numb. She wasn't sure exactly __how __she was supposed to feel. It hurt, it hurt horribly __(unbearably so) __to lose them, but she didn't cry.

At least, not for them.

No, instead she cried for Anna, for her pain &amp; misery, and how she pathetic she was as a Queen &amp; sister that she couldn't even muster the courage __(the decency) __to open the door to comfort her hurting baby sibling. She also cried for their broken relationship and just how messed up __(and utterly, completely hopeless) __it all was for them and there being next to none chance of a reconciliation.

It was a sad concept to know that she couldn't even grieve for her parents properly, but Elsa had refused to acknowledge her grief or pain, for the sake of herself &amp; the good of Arendelle. Even though something in the back of her mind whispered for her to allow herself to heal, she did not dare to delve into her conscious to fix whatever might be damaged. She didn't have the courage, nor the time. Because right after the King &amp; Queen's funeral, Elsa had to work non-stop with negotiations, dealing with preparations for her coronation, and being buried alive under the mountains of paperwork that seemed to appear on her desk every day—all the while, managing to successfully avoid Anna, who was still hurting from the loss of her entire family __(because Elsa didn't count; she lost the right to call herself a sister when she ignored the younger girl's countless pleas for love and comfort.)__

She didn't understand her emotions or what they were exactly—she had so much to focus on back then that former Queen had welcomed any distraction with open arms. Even the journey to this land had been a heedless blessing for her as she spent weeks trekking through dense forests, fighting off fearsome wildlife and sporting many injuries.

By the time she arrived to this island she was covered in multiple bruises &amp; cuts, her shoes long gone and her dress shredded beyond repair, and her sanity on the borderline. It was only as she started living in this self-imposed exile with a frozen kingdom, a dead sister, all the time in the world in her hands and with nothing further to distract her; did any restraint she might have had left quickly disintegrate and Elsa succumbed to her despair.

Safe to say, she promptly turned into an emotional wreck and spent everyday of her time overwhelmed by her grief; sobbing, regretting and praying to a God who did not seem to exist.

She gave up any notion of ever regaining happiness.

And yet, here she was, standing next to a man &amp; his dragon feeling more elated, more content and more __alive __than she could ever remember being in her entire life.

Why he could have such a profound effect on her after only a couple of days was anyone's guess—all she knew she didn't want to let the feeling go.

__'____He's like the sunshine on the first morning of spring in a snow-laden forest...____' __she realised after her cheeks began to flush as he grabbed her hand.

He would gently thaw away the powerful grip of winter with the utmost respect whilst at the same time manage not to throw mother nature or any surrounding inhabitants into total chaos. Winter would resist and be stubborn—holding its stance for as long as possible with its cold tendrils—but he would be patient, persistent &amp; tenacious.

__'____He'll continue to shine brightly day after day, no matter how long, until there's no snow or ice or any trace of cold remaining... ____h____e'll make it thaw slowly.____'__

* * *

_Author's Notes: Oh my God, I'm done! I'm actually DONE! I can't believe I actually managed to complete this chapter and be satisfied. Hell yeah! Way to go me! And so ends the first Act of Thaw Slowly - I will tell you, quite emotional and I will admit, I might have dragged it out for a bit too long with the angst but I think we've got a good majority out of the system and I hope you guys can forgive for the emotional turmoil I put you through. It can only go up from here!_

_I want to thank __**TheWritingFactory **__and __**Maxaro **__for once again investing their time into reading and editing this story. I'm so grateful for it guys._

_A shout out to __**Secretsivekept **__because this awesome person has made a brief comic strip of this story, re-enacting a scene from the last chapter. Seriously, check it out. It's on tumblr, you won't be disappointed!_

_Also, __**Maxaro**__; I like lots of animals but penguins &amp; cats (including the big ones) are my favourite type of animals. Penguins because they're cute and cats because they're clever &amp; do the most adorable things!_

_Now, time to reply to some reviews. Sorry guys, I haven't answered too many of them, but I will do so now without giving away the rest of the plot._

_**Arkisenn: **__Yes, I did kind of drag out the angst for a bit too long. Forgive me, but on the plus side, it will get better for Hiccup &amp; Elsa._

_**Secretsivekept: **__OMG I adored your artwork (although you already got my rapid fangirl message! I'm stalking you now on **tumblr**!) So gorgeous! I was swooning at Hiccup! He's such a sexy guy ;-)_

_**Guest: **__I do actually have another Hiccelsa fanfic in the works, but I want to focus on this first before I upload it._

_**Je suis occupe a ecrire: **__Next chapter introduces Hiccelsa fluffiness! So brace yourself._

_**MissPanda101: **__I'm sorry, but I won't be able to do any chapters of their married life anytime soon. However, I've got plans ;-)_

_**Inkwell Light: **__Thanks for always reviewing, it always make me happy._

_**Margaret Helstone: **__What can I say? Thanks to your awesomeness and epic AMV skills (and I know because I've been stalking you on **youtube**) this story has such a kick-ass trailer! Thank you and I can't wait to see your next video._

_**Memnonic: **__Train to "Feeladelphia" - BAHAHAHAHA! Nice! I wish I could answer your questions, but to do so would be revealing too much, so I'm sorry. Although I happy to pm you at anytime if you got any other questions._

_**SeaFeudJagger: **__Oh wow, I'm so glad that you reviewed since I'm enthralled with both your Hiccelsa stories at the moment. So can't wait for the next update ;-)_

_**Red Star: **__Oh my God... OMG! OMG! Red Star has read my story! READ MY STORY! Sorry, as you can tell I'm pretty excited since I'm in awe of you, although I will say I'm deeply sorry you had to endure all of Elsa's angstiness. Forgive me, for I made her wallow in self-pity!_

_I'm sorry to everyone else for not replying, but don't think that I don't appreciate the effort and time it takes to read &amp; review this story (I'm at a 100 reviews because of you guys!)_

_Thank you, I'm really grateful for all your kinds words and support. So until next time take care and be kind to one another._


	11. And ignite your bones

_High up above or down below_  
_When you're too in love to let it go_  
_But if you never try you'll never know_  
_Just what you're worth_  
_Lights will guide you home_  
_And ignite your bones_  
_I will try to fix you_

\- Coldplay

* * *

It might have sounded absurd, or more like he was full of it _(___because he tended to be at the best times when he filled with confidence) __for him to say that he had a good understanding of the fair maiden after having only met her a few days ago, however, the Viking Chief had always prided himself on being good at catching on to other's feelings even when words were not an option __(although, it was incredibly handy that Elsa's powers were a reflection of her emotions...) __and the moment Hiccup stepped out of the cabin, he knew without a doubt something had changed within Elsa.

He couldn't exactly describe it, but it felt as if the air no longer carried a lingering sense of sadness or loneliness, and he didn't feel the lightest bit cold; if anything he felt incredibly warm. Even the snow &amp; ice around them seemed different, as silly as it may have sounded. The ice was so clear, polished and in a gorgeous bright blue colour, compared to before, which looked darker and somewhat clouded; and when he grabbed a handful of snow, he was surprised to find it wasn't cold! It was cool, but it didn't burn or numb his hand the way snow usually did—it just tingled in the most pleasant way imaginable.

Her heart was beginning to warm up, and so was her magic.

"It's so beautiful..." she whispered, looking at their surroundings as if seeing the world for the first time and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Yeah, it's amazing." Hiccup said in agreement as he walked over to her, just as much in awe as she was. He noticed Toothless from the corner of his eye staring at the reflection of the frozen lake and tapping it with his paw, obviously confused—he would let the Night Fury be for now. He reached to the ice maiden's side and continued; "Before now, I never truly realised how beautiful winter can be..."

Before meeting Elsa, the Viking had seen snow as a regular occurrence, a part of the everyday living for everyone on Berk. Sometimes he saw it as a nuisance, other times he saw it as something to break his fall during one of his gliding attempts; but this was the first he had ever thought it as beautiful—and he idly wondered how he could've been so blind.

Elsa looked over at him and he noticed for the first time just how __blue __her eyes were—it was difficult to describe __(and stupid that he'____d____ only ____now____ realised it)__ but they were bright &amp; clear, like the colour of the sky on a beautiful cloudless day. He adored them, and strangely, this was what prompted him to grab her hand, and gave him a desperate urge to never let go.

__'____What are you doing to me, Lady Elsa?____' __The rider wondered as he watched her cheeks flush a delicate shade of pink, causing him to notice the faint dusting of freckles across her nose &amp; cheekbones, which made him think about how adorable she was as she looked at him like that. It made him want to run back into the hut to grab his blanket, wrap it around her delicate frame, hold her in his arms, and assure her she was safe and that he would never let anything hurt or sadden her again.

He wanted to protect her, as much as she wanted to protect him—and he had no idea how to take such a profound realisation.

"I forgot," she admitted. "I focused so much on the negatives, that I forgot about the positives... thank you, for reminding me."

"Anytime. Although, I've been meaning to ask you something..." he trailed off, wondering if he should actually ask.

She looked at with a warm gaze and said "Anything."

Feeling rather embarrassed, he took a deep breath and decided to Hel with it, before he asked; "Just what __is __a snowman?"

* * *

Elsa blinked once, then twice, and then a third just for good measure—before letting out, "What?" and giggling, wondering if Hiccup was being serious.

_'He can't be, surely?'_

The Chief let out a rough chuckle in response and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Yeah, I know. Lame right?" He quipped, looking rather sheepish.

Her giggles died the instant she realised he was being genuine. "You're serious? You don't know what a snowman is? You've __never __built one?"

He nodded his head in affirmation and she stared at him in shock.

"You told me that it snows on Berk," she said. "Didn't you ever play in it as a child?"

"I wasn't _exactly _the most _popular_ kid growing up... remember how I told you that I used to be called __"Hiccup the Useless" __when I was younger?_"_ He replied awkwardly and she nodded. "Unfortunately, that meant I was ostracised a lot by my peers and I spent most of my time alone."

The former Queen couldn't believe it what she was hearing; he had been just like her!

"That horrible!" She said, looking at him with sympathy.

"Oh no, it wasn't that bad!" He exclaimed. "I mean, yeah it sucked that no one wanted to be my friend back then, but it wasn't like I had the time to dwell on it. We were always being raided by the dragons and I was working full-time as a blacksmith apprentice and the other kids were too busy assisting the adults, so I didn't really have the chance to be sad or lonely. Besides, I preferred the solitude—it allowed me to read, create, explore &amp; invent without being hassled by the others... or be influenced by their idiocy."

"That sounds a little harsh." She said, getting a strong sense of deja vu.

"It is, but sadly, the people of Berk _aren't exactly _the _brightest_ bunch." He shrugged his shoulders in good humour. "There's a few sharp ones like Fishlegs, Gothi, Gobber and my mother—but the majority of them are rather the take-the-initiative and fight-first-ask-questions-later type of people."

"Sounds like there's never a dull moment..." she replied in bemusement.

"That's one way of looking at it," he responded casually. "Personally, I find it to be more of exhausting. In between settling disputes, organising events, training dragons, researching and blacksmithing—I hardly get to see Toothless and just relax. Of course, he's just as busy as me with his role as Alpha, and as a result, this is probably the most time we've spent together since my coronation."

Elsa could relate to what he was saying all too well. Even though she had Gerda to organise her days and Kai to ensure she kept to schedule, she still had found herself run off her feet and utterly exhausted by the end of each day.

"I can only imagine," she said with a chuckle. "My hair would probably turn grey if I were in your position!"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that..." he started awkwardly, causing her to raise one fine eyebrow. "Your hair... has it changed colour? Because the other day I could've sworn it was nearly white, but now it's blonde. Albeit, lighter than the usual kind, but still blonde nonetheless."

"… what?" She breathed out in disbelief. Letting go of his hand, she ignored his worried cry and rushed over to the frozen lake, dropping onto her knees right alongside of Toothless as she peered into to the reflective surface to get a look.

Her face was still as pale as ever and eyes were still as blue as the ice she wielded so easily, but Hiccup was right; her hair was different. It wasn't the cold tone of white that reminded her of the snow &amp; regrets which she had become accustomed since coming to this land, it was once again the blonde that she had adorned growing up, that had made her stand out from the rest of her family, and yet she adored it fiercely because she thought it was the prettiest shade imaginable and made her feel grateful that she was blessed with such lovely coloured hair.

__'____How can this be...?____' __She pondered, running a hand through her windswept locks and over her braid, all the while looking at her reflection in complete astonishment. _'___I thought it was inevitable that it would turn ____completely____ white, and yet, it's reverted back to normal. Does this mean my magic has been affected?____'__

It was possible—there were stories about people's hair being altered by the effects of their magic. She had even heard that Princess Rapunzel of Corona had this occur to her; it was rumoured that she'd previously had golden blonde hair that reached an unnatural length and had the incredible ability to restore health &amp; youth, hence why she was missing for the first eighteen years of her life. However, the royal family had never confirmed this rumour or denied it, and after seeing her at the coronation with cropped brown hair, Elsa had deemed it to be just petty gossip and completely dismissed the story.

Now she was starting to have second thoughts...

__'____Does this mean my magic is beginning to change? Does this mean I have more control over it?____' __She wondered intently, noticing from the corner of her eye that Toothless had cocked his head to the side, obviously interested in their reflection. _'___But how...?____'__

"Elsa...?"

The former Queen pulled her attention away from the frozen lake and glanced over to the Viking, who was standing a few feet away, obviously to give her space, and yet still stood attentively, as if ready to assist at any moment. He looked at her in a way she couldn't really describe, except it was tender and made her cheeks burn, and then suddenly it clicked.

__'____It's because he's affecting my heart, therefore he's influencing my magic!____' __She realised for the first time, stunned at the revelation. It wasn't all her imagination—the snow __was __warmer than usual, the ice __was __clear &amp; pristine, the sky _was_ clearer. Her magic __was __being affected! Although she had always been aware that her emotions were the outlet to her abilities, she never suspected that they could be influenced in _such_ a way_._

__'____You're changing me in a way I never thought possible, making me feel in a way I can't understand, and yet, I'm not afraid at all... ____j____ust ____**what**____ are you doing to me, Chief Hiccup?____'__

"It appears that you and Toothless have had more of an influence on me than I originally thought." She admitted, slowly rising up from her position. "Because _this_ is my natural hair colour. At least, while I still have these powers."

"Wait, what are you saying?" The Chief asked, looking confused.

"Not too many people know this, but I was born with brown hair." She confessed, causing him to raise both eyebrows and look at her dumbfound. "However, as I grew older my powers started developing, therefore my hair started turning this colour. By the time I was five, my hair turned completely blonde."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I've heard it's happened to a few people. I've heard of a girl whose hair would glow as brightly as the sun whenever she would sing."

"That's amazing!" he exclaimed with wide green eyes. "So you're saying that the reason you're so fair is because you can wield ice &amp; snow? That your magic has a direct influence of your physical appearance?"

"Yes, my point exactly."

"That's incredible! Wait..." he realised something. "So this means your hair was white because you were affected by your abilities?"

The snow maiden nodded her head, before biting her lip. "There was ice in my heart before I met you... But now it's thawing, I can feel it."

What she was saying felt incredibly personal __(and ____more than____ a little embarrassing) __for someone whom she had only just met, but it was too important not to be said. She had shunned everyone she loved out of her life for so long; she wasn't going to do the same with Hiccup.

"Elsa..." he breathed out, he looked just as stunned as she had been when she had her epiphany.

"I'm fine, Hiccup." She said with confidence she hadn't felt in a _very_ long time. Walking over to the Chief, she gave him a reassuring smile and she was happy when she saw him relax. "Better than fine, actually. My powers are changing and I think I can control it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh man, this is so great! You have to show us!" He exclaimed, grabbing her hands again. His green eyes were alight with joy &amp; excitement, and the grin he wore was so wide and genuine that she couldn't help herself from smiling back.

"Okay..." She agreed _(so eagerly, so easily__—seriously, this man would certainly be her undoing...)_ and gave his hands a gentle squeeze before reluctantly letting them go and taking a few steps back. The fair maiden took a deep breath and willed her magic and in an instant a snowball appeared between her hands; it glowed as a flurry of blue snowflakes hovered around it.

"Are you ready?" She asked, feeling a beam of pride swell within her as she watched Toothless &amp; Hiccup vigorously nodding their heads. Motivated, she shot the enchanted snowball straight up into the air and watched as it exploded into a million tiny snowflakes.

"This is __AMAZING__!" The rider cheered, running around in the snowfall like an excited child, whilst the Night Fury was pouncing from one end to another and trying to catch any snowflakes on his massive tongue.

__'____They really are alike...____'__ She thought to herself with a chuckle, shaking her head in bemusement; remembering Anna saying the exact same thing on the night of the incident. It gave her a sense of nostalgia and made her wish that her sister was right there at that moment, because if she had, Elsa was sure that the Chief &amp; her would've definitely hit it off.

Who knows? They might have even become the best of friends...

__'____Wishful thinking, Elsa...____'__ Her mind reminded her, _'___But a nice idea ____nonetheless____.____'__

"Yeah..." she whispered in agreement.

Strangely, the former Queen didn't feel hurt or broken by the thought of Anna at that moment. Instead, she felt resigned; her sister was gone and there was nothing she could do to change that painful fact, however, Elsa wanted to think of the good times she had spent with the younger girl and move on from the past.

__"You have to run, you have to ___**_**live**_**__**_—_**___you owe Anna that much, at least."__

Yes, she did.

So she watched her new friends running through the snow and allowed herself to enjoy the view, knowing her magic was responsible for their happiness &amp; excitement.

__'____I hope you can watch this Anna, wherever you are...____'__

* * *

__Kristoff stood stunned and broken-hearted at the scene before him. He couldn't believe it, the girl he had come to admire ____**(and love)**____ so quickly these past few days was gone. Frozen into solid ice for all of eternity.__

__"Anna...?" Olaf asked in total disbelief. The fact that the always cheerful talking snowman could look so hurt, so pained, so ___**_**heartbroken **_**___at that moment _like any other living being, _only amounted to the tragedy of this entire situation.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**No, it can't be... **_**__**_**w**_**__**_**hat happened to Prince Hans!?**_**__**_**' **_**___He wondered, as he watched Queen Elsa continu____e____ to cry over her dead sister's form. ____**'**___**_**What happened to True Love's kiss!?**_**__**_**'**_**_

__"Guards! Seize her!" He heard a voice; full of anger, hatred &amp; fear, and he decided he really didn't like it or whoever it belonged to.__

__He watched as the Queen of Arendelle reluctantly pulled away from Anna and stumbled a few feet away from her frozen sibling, arms outstretched and blue eyes ____wide—____obviously distressed and hurting just as much as he was, and yet, as he looked up to the skies and saw grey clouds begin to form and the snowflakes starting to float around them, he realised that his pain couldn't even begin to compare to the inner turmoil brewing within her heart.__

__"Anna..." ____s____he sobbed, her voice croaky &amp; tight. She clearly wanted to return to her sister's side and Kristoff wished she would. Instead, she looked at her trembling hands and asked herself; "What have I done?"__

__"Your Majesty...?" ____H____e asked aloud, feeling the wind beginning to pick up and heard Sven's distressed cry. __

__The Queen pulled her hands together ____and____ cradled them against her chest, whisper____ing____; "I'm so, so sorry...! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."__

__His heart ____was____ beginning to race as he realised the storm was returning, however, he knew this one would be even worse, more fierce, more powerful, and ____far____ more ____**deadly**____.__

__"There she is!"__

__"Hurry! We have to move quickly!"__

__"She is to be executed for treason!"__

_**_**'**_**__**_**They're going to kill her!**_**__**_**' **_**___Kristoff realised, horrified by the thought. He looked over to the woman, to see her reaction, but she was too deep in her despair to be paying attention to her surroundings. ____**'**___**_**I can't let that happen!**_**__**_**'**_**_

__Alarmed, he ____yelled out____; "Queen Elsa! You have to run!"__

__She lifted her head up and glanced over to him, obviously shocked before stuttering out, "N-no... I won't leave her. Not again..."__

__"Queen Elsa, you have to go! They're going to execute you!" He insisted, feeling panic flooding within him as he heard the shouts of ____the____ men and impeding footsteps.__

__"Then let them!" She cried out and he braced himself against the sudden blast of gust which followed.  
__

__"But Anna wouldn't want this!" He argued back.__

__"I don't deserve to live after what I've done..."__

____"So you're just going to let her sacrifice be in vain then?"____

____T__he ice harvester watched her eyes widen &amp; her shoulders slump, and unimaginable amount of relief went through him because he knew he had finally struck a nerve____—____that she would finally listen to reason.__

__"PREPARE FOR CAPTURE!"__

__"You have to go, please..." he begged. __"You have to run, you have to ___**_**live**_**__**_—_**___you owe Anna that much, at least." ____

__"FIRE! FIRE!"__

__"I'm sorry, Anna..." Queen Elsa spoke, casting her gaze onto her frozen sibling. "For everything I did and everything I didn't do... I'm sorry... I love you."__

__And then she was gone and everything became a white haze.__

__"WHERE IS SHE?!"__

__"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!"__

__Kristoff could no longer hear the voices as clear as before, but he didn't mind. He wanted to mourn for the Princess in peace____—t____o say goodbye to the one person who was better than ____his____ reindeer.__

__Approaching her frozen form, he noticed that Olaf had his stick arms wrapped around her legs, obviously as devastated by her death as he was. ____He ____r____each____ed____ out a hand to cup her cold cheek, wanting to cry at the irony. He had always loved ice, completely adored it ever since he was a young boy, and yet now, he couldn't help but loathe it. ____  
__

__"Anna..." ____h____e murmured as the first set of tears finally kicked in. They rolled down his cheeks slowly &amp; solemnly, and he had to close his eyes because he couldn't bare to stare at her vacant gaze any longer. ____Even though he had never dwelled upon it too much, Kristoff acknowledged that he had lost a lot in his life: his parents, his home and any semblance of a normal life, but he had never been angry or bitter because it was useless and he was content with the life he had been given. But this... this was the first time he found himself cursing at God or whatever deity existed for screwing him over and taking away the best thing that ever happened to him.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**I'm sorry, Anna, I failed you...**_**__**_**' **_**__H___e thought ____solemnly____, his chest aching in a way he never thought possible. ____**'**___**_**I just hope that Elsa will be able to get away safely. I know you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her. The fact that you gave up your own life to protect hers just goes to show how much you care. I just wish you could see how much she cares for you... How much **_******I******_** care for you... **_**__**_**b**_**__**_**ut I guess that's too late now...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__"Kristoff, look!" Olaf cried out excitedly, tugging at his pants whilst Sven nudged his head against his side.__

__Snapping his eyes open, Kristoff gasped and watched in complete astonishment at what was unfolding before him.__

**__'What...? Can it be...?'__**

__He couldn't believe it! Anna... Anna was thawing!__

__Her entire form was transforming from ice to human flesh right before his very eyes and his heart lifted in a way he'd never experienced before. A wild grin appeared on his face and joyous laughter ____erupted____ from his chest when she ____completely____ thawed ____out____ and tumbled into his arms and looked up at him with hazy eyes.__

**__'Thank you, God. Thank you.'__**

__Anna was still alive.__

* * *

_Author's Notes: OH MY GOD ANNA IS STILL ALIVE! SAY IT ISN'T SO! Well, I think we all had an inkling this might have been the case but I didn't want to give it away. Although in all honesty, I wasn't actually planning to reveal Anna until much later in the story but __**TheWritingFactory**__ convinced me enough after I trolled him a million times on the subject and secondly, I've come up with a good story plan. That of which, you'll have to wait for ;-) So what did everyone think? Predictable? Cliche`? I just couldn't bring myself to let Anna die; it was too cruel to let her die and I'm quite fond of her and have a somewhat similar personality to her._

_Did anyone like the **"Tangled"** reference? Although I'm not all into that movie; I was fascinated by the relationship between Rapunzel &amp; Mother Gothel and have written a few pieces about their dynamic (I swear I will post them up one day.) My favourite part of the movie is when her hair gets cut and it changes colour, the same with Anna for **"Frozen"** \- I don't know, I think it's cool. Hence, why I did it with Elsa for this story and after recently seeing a GIF on pinterest in which Elsa's hair colour changes ever so slightly as she creates her signature dress during **"Let it go"** \- I was like "Hell yeah!"_

_So I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, review and edit this story. I always appreciate it._

_I want to thank __**TheWritingFactory** for always being there and helping me when I'm in a stump and to be on the look out for his Hiccelsa story which will be coming out very soon. Looking forward to it, ;-) I also want to thank **Margaret Helstone** because she did a beautiful cover of **"Fix you"** and uploaded it on youtube. Go check it out, it gave me chills._

_Also a shout out to __**Maxaro**__ for once again editing because frankly, my brain is always mush by the end of every chapter, and to answer your question - I have a million favourite movie quotes but two of my personal favourites both come from the same movie; __**"The Adventures of Priscilla - Queen of the desert"**__ (warning it has language):_

_The first: Bernadette [to Felicia]:_ I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "No more _fucking_ ABBA!"

And second: _At Broken Hill, Mitzi and Felicia step out onto the street all dolled up in exaggerated drag._

_Mitzi:_ What the fuck am I doing? Take that bloody frock off Felicia! Don't make it worse than it is.

_Felicia:_ Think I'll let you get all the attention? No chance. Come on girls, lets go shopping!

_Bernadette:_ For Christ's sake!

_BAHAHAHAHAHA! I friggin' love this movie, but that's probably because I'm Australian and we do have a strange sense of humour ;-p_

_Until next time, everyone!_


	12. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

__Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
It's not warm when she's away...  
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
And she's always gone too long  
Anytime she goes away...  
Wonder this time where she's gone  
Wonder if she's gonna stay...  
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone  
And this house just ain't no home  
Anytime she goes away...  
__

_\- Bill Withers_

* * *

__She felt cold. So horribly, horribly, gut-wrenchingly cold. It was the kind ____of cold ____that____ crushed your lungs, shattered your bones, jerked your nerves and made you grind your teeth so hard until they turned into a fine powder____—____it destroyed all sense of logic and all train of thought, and Anna didn't know if she could endure it any longer.__

__"Kristoff!" She gasped out, praying that the billowing wind around her would carry her message to the ice harvester. She didn't have much time left and... oh God, she didn't want to go out like this____—____cold, scared, and unloved.__

**_**"Oh Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you."**_**

__No, no, Hans **was** wrong! Someone ___**_**did **_**___love her.__

**_**"Go away, Anna."**_**

__He ___**_**had **_**___to be wrong! Someone ___**_**had **_**___to love her, surely.__

**_**"Anna, what do you know about true love?"**_**

__Mama and Papa loved her, didn't they? And behind that cold &amp; distant exterior, Elsa surely did as well, right?__

**_**"Then leave."**_**

**_**"How do you know that Elsa even wants to see you?"**_**

_**_**"But you should probably go... **_**__**_**p**_**__**_**lease..."**_**_

_**_**"Anna, please! **_**__**_**Y**_**__**_**ou'll only make it worse!"**_**_

_**_**"What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop **_**__**_**me**_**__**_**?"**_**_

__Or maybe she was wrong.__

**_**"Love is..."**_**

__Maybe, she ____was truly____ incapable of being loved.__

**_**"Putting someone else's needs before yours..."**_**

__"ANNA!"__

_**_**"… **_**__**_**l**_**__**_**ike you know, how Kristoff brought you back here, to Hans, and left you forever."**_**_

__Yes, that's right, someone ___**_**did **_**___love her. Someone who preferred the company of reindeer over people, someone who didn't have the best concept of hygiene or personal space, and someone who, despite all his gruffness &amp; social impairments, was a kind, caring, genuine person____—____someone who was risking his life by running into this fierce some storm her sister had conjured.__

__Kristoff Bjorgman loved her, even though she couldn't comprehend how or why, ____Anna____ sure as anything wanted to find out what that felt like.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Where are you?**_**__**_**' **_**___She wondered, feeling the cold spread through her. The tips of her fingers had already turned to solid ice and she c____ould____ feel the same sensation spreading across her neck &amp; jawline.__

__The blizzard was draining every ounce of life within her and it wouldn't be too long before she would become completely frozen.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Mama, Papa... help me...**_**__**_**'**_**___ s____he prayed, holding her hands tightly her chest. __**__'__**_**_**Please, I don't want to die.**_**__**_**'**_**_

__The rough winds billowed around her____—____tugging at her now white locks, pulling at her clothes and knocking her tired form ____from____ side-to-side without a shred of mercy. She saw how a gust of wind literally swept poor Olaf off his feet only minutes before, and she sincerely hoped that he was okay wherever he ____had____ landed.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**It hurts,**_**__**_**' **_**___she thought as she felt her chest constrict, struggling fr____om a lack of____ oxygen. Her lower half felt numb, ____disorientated,____ and heavy. __**__'__**_**_**It hurts so much...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__She would die soon if she didn't keep walking, she knew, and yet... she couldn't find the strength to take another step____—____everything was too blurry, a thick haze of white, grey &amp; utter hopelessness, and she was too exhausted to keep going.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Oh God, please don't let this be the end. Not yet. Not when I'm so close. Please...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__And, as if heeding her prayers, the storm suddenly stopped. A powerful gust blew by her and everything cleared; Anna could finally see again. Her newly-turned ____light____ blue eyes gazed across the frozen fjord and her heart rate picked up when they landed on the blonde-haired man who was now standing 50ft away from her.__

__"Kristoff!" ____S____he exclaimed happily. He was here! He did come back for her! He ___**_**did **_**___care.__

__"Anna!" ____H____e called ____back to her____, bolting towards her.__

__She stumbled forward with a smile on her face and hope pulsing through her jagged, cold veins because he would kiss her, thaw her heart and she c____ould____ finally realise what it means to be loved...__

**_***SHING!***_**

__However, that foolish &amp; na____ï____ve notion vanished within an instant when she heard the sound of something harsh and metallic ring through the stagnant air, forcing her to glance to her left, and ____she was____ filled with horror as ____she____ realised the cause ____of the sound____: Prince Hans ___**_**(that treacherous jerk!) **_**___was approaching Elsa____—____who was, for some reason, hunched over on the ground and appeared completely oblivious to her surroundings____—____with a sword in his hands and a dangerous motive ____with____in his twisted mind.__

_**_**"Now all that's left is to kill Elsa..." **_**___His cruel, callous words rang in her ears at that exact moment. ___**_**"… and bring back summer."**_**_

__"Elsa...!" ____Anna____ gasped out, frost tightening around her throat.__

__She was close____—____the ice would consume her at any second____—____but that was the least of her concerns ____right now____.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**No, no, this can't be happening!**_**__**_**' **_**___She thought, fear flooding through her entire being, and yet this time it was not for herself____—____it was instead for her sister. __**__'__**_**_**Run, Elsa, run! Why aren't you moving?! RUN!**_**__**_**'**_**_

__Oh how she wanted to cry out loud; to call out her ____sister's____ name, to warn her, to tell her to run ___**_**(did she not know of her **_**__**_**impeding**_**__**_** death?**_**__**_**)**_**__**_—_**___however, with her constricted vocals, Anna was powerless to intervene.__

__The Princess turned back around to see Kristoff, who was still running towards her and pondered briefly if there would be enough time for him to kiss her and for her to then rush over to protect her sister; however, he was still too far away and it didn't take a scholar to know that he wouldn't get to her in time and she realised the heavy ____choice____ she needed to make in that moment.__

__It was either save herself, or save Elsa____—____as simple as that.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**I'm sorry, Kristoff...**_**__**_**' **_**___She thought solemnly, looking at him once last time. ____**'**___**_**For **_**__**_**making you**_**__**_** com**_**__**_**e**_**__**_** all this way for nothing...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__And so, without hesitation, Anna ____pushed out whatever remained of her strength as she____ rushed to her sister's side, praying to God that she would be able to intervene before it was too late to save Elsa____—____to let her use her final seconds to put her life to good use before she would become solid ice for all eternity.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Thank you for coming back and showing me that there's someone out there who cares about me.**_**__**_**' **_**___She continued to muse as she ran towards her destination; her chest hurting in a way she had never experienced, air struggling to reach to her lungs and her vision starting to blur. Not much longer now... __**__'__**_**_**For looking past my status &amp; all my flaws, showing me that I can be loved... **_**__**_**n**_**__**_**o one's ever done that for me before, so **_**__**_**I**_**__**_** thank you.**_**__**_**'**_**_

__It should have saddened her____—____the thought that she would never get to experience love ____and____ joy and romance____—____but, strangely, it didn't. Instead, it ____fuelled____ her entire being, renewing her in a way she hadn't felt since she knew that she had to follow Elsa and make ____amends____, g____iving____ her the strength to push through the cold &amp; pain piercing through her, and ____filling her with____ courage she never thought ____even____ existed. ____It was enough for her____ to step in front of Hans' ____falling____ sword____—____throwing her hand upwards____—____waiting for ____the sharp steel____ to cut ____through____ her flesh &amp; ____bone ___**_(hopefully, her flesh would become solid ice before then so she wouldn't have to feel the pain) _**___without a single shred of despair, fear or doubt.__

__"NO!" ____S____he cried with her last breath, practically begging the Prince to spare her sibling.__

_**_**'**_**__**_**Kill me if you want,**_**__**_**' **_**___she thought staring at his crazed expression. ____**'**___**_**Just please, Hans, don't hurt her...**_**__**_**'**_**_

__If she had to die so young, then so be it. If Anna had to die so that Elsa would live, then she would gladly except her fate. Because even though they had been fallen out for way too long and had many unresolved issues, a life without her sister was a life not worth living ____in her mind____. Sure, they had their differences and they both messed up, and yeah, Anna had often wished she had a sister more like her____self____, but, in the end, it didn't matter who was right or wrong, or who had more tact &amp; grace, or was the lonelier one growing up____—____Elsa was still her big sister. ____**H**___**_**er **_**___sister. ____**H**____**er**____ Queen, and she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.__

__She loved Elsa regardless, and, to ____Anna____, that was much more important than her desire to be loved.__

**_**"Love is..."**_**

__And it was because of that simple realisation that Anna could once again hear the wise words of Olaf echoing through her head, giving her a new understanding ___**_**(love, of course!) **_**___as her body locked into place, her vision went dark, her limbs went numb and the cold finally engulfed her, ____bringing her____ into a blissful oblivion.__

**_**"Putting someone else's needs before yours..."**_**

* * *

"Your Highness...? Your Highness...?"

Even though Anna knew she was being addressed, it did not register that she should acknowledge it. Her mind was currently too focused of the sight before her—the harbour port which should be bustling with life, travellers, and precious cargo at this time of the year was now dismal &amp; barely used, which was no surprise since about seventy-five percent of the fjord was still frozen, rendering nearly all of the ships completely useless.

__"But wow, am I so ready for this change!"__

Nine months ago she had looked at the harbour with joy &amp; optimism; hoisting herself to the roof with boundless enthusiasm, but now all she felt was exhaustion &amp; dread.

How ironic.

Still, if it hadn't been for Kristoff's brilliant idea to get ice harvesters to break apart the ice to open up a path leading out of the fjord, Arendelle would have fallen into complete ruin—at least it was one thing Anna could be grateful for without feeling like needing to devour an entire box of Belgium chocolates while wallowing in self-pity.

"Princess Anna...?"

_"_'____Cause ____for ____the ____first ____time ____in ____forever___—___there'll___ be ___music___, ___there'll ____be ____light___..."_

It was her own fault everything had turned out the way it did. She had expected too much, too soon, and now she was paying the price for her foolishness.

What would her parents say? They'd be disappointed, no doubt. Then again, hadn't they always been? Between her compulsive bouts of clumsiness, excessive awkward ramblings, poor academic records, and lack of every trait required of a royal subject—Anna imagined that the late King &amp; Queen would have been very hesitant to leave their title to her, even though she was the spare.

A useless spare...

"Anna."

And just like that, she snapped back to reality. Flicking her teal eyes to the direction of the person who called out her name without any sort of honorific and was met by the face of Kristoff, who was looking at her with concern; more so than was appropriate from that of a friend and certainly that of a commoner, but with everything that had occurred these many months since Elsa's disappearance—Anna appreciated __(and desperately needed) __his presence—because it reminded her that she wasn't entirely alone in her new-found role as ruler of Arendelle.

Unfortunately, it also reminded her that they weren't alone __(much to her embarrassment) __in her late father's study and so she turned her focus onto Kai &amp; several of the council members who had been trying to grab her attention for the past few minutes.

"I'm sorry," she apologised sheepishly. "What were we talking about again?"

Kai looked as though he were about to lightly scold her for her absent-mindedness—like he always did when she wasn't focusing __(a year ago he would have)____—__however, he must have deemed it unnecessary and repeated himself.

__'____Of course, he won't,____'_ _her mind scolded instead, doing the job for the head butler. _'___Everything's changed now; you're not some ditzy, little girl who still thinks that life is a beautiful fairytale and that marrying a Prince leads to true love, or self-worth, or happily ever after. You're their ruler, their leader____—____you carry the burden of duty for the sake of your people; just like Papa, Mama, &amp; Elsa. You can't assume that everyone will treat you the same just because you're still the same clumsy girl who rambles on excessively____—____ to them, ____you're not that person____ any more____—____you're ___**_**more **_**___now...____'__

"We've just received word from the King &amp; Queen of Corona," Kai informed her. "They wished to inform you that they've just welcomed the latest ship of Arendellian citizens and that they're all doing well."

"Thank goodness," Anna breathed out, relief washing over her. It had always worried her whenever they sent a ship on a voyage to Corona—her parents always flashed in her mind when she did so—but with rations depleting at an alarming rate, poor economy, and mounting tension between Arendelle and Weaselton; things were looking bleak and it was only sensible to offer her citizens the opportunity for refuge with an all-expenses paid trip to the far more prosperous kingdom.

"They also send their best wishes to you," the butler continued and then presented a sealed envelope. "And for you to be ever so kind to give this to Princess Rapunzel whenever you see her next."

Grabbing the letter out of Kai's gloved hand, Anna merely replied; "I'll be sure to see that she gets it."

Glancing at the grandfather clock to her left, she noted that it was just a little before eight AM, which meant that the Princess of Corona would, no doubt, be currently in the kitchen baking with the fellow servants. She remembered how affronted they had been at the beginning, allowing royalty into the kitchen to do something that they themselves could do, however, Rapunzel always insisted that she was accustomed to doing so in her life long before ever becoming a royal and that she was all too eager to help the people of Arendelle in any way possible.

That was Anna's favourite thing about the perky brunette; Rapunzel wasn't above doing menial tasks or labour in order to help others in need. She would visit the citizens everyday bearing warm drinks &amp; food for the less unfortunate—offering them a warmth that was all too rare nowadays—whilst her husband, Prince Eugene, would visit the local orphanage everyday to ensure they were doing well, but also to read to them and take them outside to play, doing his utmost best to keep them blissfully ignorant of the ever-growing despair looming over them.

That was the greatest part of the royal couple in Anna's mind—they __genuinely __cared about the people of Arendelle, and Anna couldn't think of any two people better as the future King &amp; Queen of Corona. Though, she knew deep down that she would never be able to repay them for all their efforts. She was forever indebted to them.

"There's also another thing that needs to discussed." Kai spoke up, his voice grave &amp; somewhat hesitant, and the Princess automatically knew where this conversation was heading. "It concerns the matter of Prince Hans..."

Anna sighed out, her assumptions correct.

"What now?" She groaned aloud. Yes, she was aware how how horribly impolite she sounded and, yes, neither Gerda or her mother would have approved of such brash behaviour, but whenever it involved the Prince of the Southern Isles all decorum she might have ever possibly have had possessed would get thrown out the window in an instant.

"Several of his brothers have sent letters to us, requesting his return," Kai explained. "They feel he's spent enough time here and they worry for his safety should the tension between Arendelle &amp; Wesealton escalate."

"And __we've___ told ___them__ that we can't send Hans back until we've put an end to this winter!" Anna replied stubbornly, frustrated that they still couldn't grasp the concept. "As much as I'd like to send that treacherous jerk packing; he's good with the people—they like him, they trust him, they even look up to him. If we send him back to the Southern Isles, the citizens will lose hope. We've already had to send a dozen fleet ships to both Corona and the Southern Isles; friends &amp; families have been forced to become separated, and morale is low, but Hans and Rapunzel have always managed to provide a beacon of hope by their constant presence. If he were to leave..."

Anna shuddered, thinking of the possibilities, none of which were pleasant. As much as she disliked Hans ever since he revealed his true colours, he still managed to keep his __"Noble, kind Prince" __persona alive &amp; well to keep lulling the citizens into a sense of security. He had even been able to convince most that Elsa was not an evil tyrant who planned on leaving Arendelle to bask in an eternal winter, but a scared young woman unaware of her limits, and that summer would eventually return—and for that, Anna was grateful.

Another irony to laugh at.

"I don't want to think about it," she simply finished. "Anything else?"

"The crew has returned from their expedition..." Kai once again started, before hesitating, and Anna held her breath, daring to hope. "Unfortunately, they still haven't been able to find any trace of Queen Elsa... my apologies, Princess Anna."

The air in the room grew sombre, more so than usual, and Anna knew that everyone could sense her distress—all present looking at her with gazes of sympathy—however, she refused to break down in tears.

At least until they were out of sight &amp; sound anyway.

"I see..." she said calmly, holding her composure—Elsa would have been so proud. "If that's everything then you all may be excused. Thank you."

She turned her focus onto the harbour again as the sounds of quiet murmurs, the shuffling of feet, and, finally, __(and it couldn't be any sooner, because she really didn't know how much longer she could hold back) __the soft closing of the door met her ears.

All her life, Anna hated closing her bedroom door and always kept it open __(despite her parents' protest ____against____ it as she grew older) __because she always wanted Elsa to know that she was welcome to visit any time she pleased—after all, love was an open door and her sister would never come if she kept it shut—and, yet, now the Princess found a certain solace &amp; comfort in it, one that she had never understood before, and realised that maybe this was why Elsa always had her door closed.

Silence engulfed the study room as despair and helplessness returned to her in full swing for the umpteenth time since they started the search party, and yet Anna still held it in—not quite ready to let it go. Because once she did, she would cry __(and cry and cry) __until she collapsed onto the ground as a crumpled mess without an ounce of energy, nor the drive to continue playing the role of an impervious ruler for the rest of the day.

"Anna..."

"I told everyone that they were excused." She tried to sound harsh as she spoke, but her voice was too choked up to make an actual impact. "That includes you too, Kristoff."

"And like _I___'ve __told _you_ from the last time and the time before that and every other time; I'm not going anywhere." Kristoff replied firmly, yet with a tenderness rarely shown to anyone else but her, and because of that, Anna threw her face into her open palms as she finally burst into violent tears.

She shouldn't have been all that surprised that the scouts had returned with nothing—after all, the world was a big place with many unexplored territories and her sister was a shrewd, reclusive person __(if she didn't ____**want**____ to be found, she wouldn't be)____—__but it still never failed to bring disappointment and unbearable heartache at the constant reminder that she had once again failed to save &amp; protect her last remaining family member.

Times like this the young ruler would often ponder on how the King &amp; Queen of Corona could manage to endure this agony for eighteen years, when she herself was losing her mind only after a few months.

__'____It's because they never gave up believing that their daughter would return home ____one day____...____' __Her mind replied gently as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind in a makeshift hug; providing the Princess with a warmth she forgot ever existed, and she lost all strength to continue standing—luckily, Kristoff could bare her weight with ease—as she continued to sob.

__'____You need to believe that Elsa will come home too.____'__

She wanted to believe, __(oh God, ____did____ she ____**want**____ to believe that!) __but, with every day that had come and gone, Anna found herself rapidly losing hope, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on before she would have to accept the very grim __(and, ____unfortunately,____ very real) __possibility that Elsa was gone and that she was never coming back.

__'____No, don't think like that!____' __She scolded herself, her optimistic side desperately trying to reassure her. _'_Everything might seem bleak, but Elsa ___**_**is **_**___out there and we ____**will**____ find her. After all, look outside the window____; ____the storm still rages on, and, as long as it continues, you know she's still alive.____'__

Anna continued crying for who knows how long, while the ice-harvester continued to hold her—not saying anything at all __(he never did, because he knew that there were no words that could ease her heartache____)—__and she appreciated it, until she finally got it all out of her system and found herself being able to stand on her own again.

"Thank you," she said as Kristoff released his grip on her.

Turning around to face him, Anna gave him a faint smile __(not all caring if her face was red &amp; splotchy &amp; so freakin' unattractive___) _and he returned the gesture. Seeing it made her heart skip a beat and made her feel all warm inside, and yet, at the same time, her guilt kicked in and she wondered how much longer they could continue avoiding issue of their ambiguous relationship.

"It was nothing." He replied gently, kindness seeping through his voice and Anna felt undeserving of it.

Kritsoff cared for her, she could see that now, but with everything that had been going on in these past nine months, the Princess couldn't bring herself to take the initiative. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to, nor that she didn't care for him; because she did __(how could she not after everything he'____d____ done, everything he'____d____ endured for her?) __but at this point of time, finding her sister and saving her kingdom were Anna's top priorities.

She didn't have the luxury of skipping out on council briefings just to go reindeer riding on Sven &amp; Kristoff's brand new sleigh, or getting to have picnics with Olaf and listen to his musings on what summer must feel like—she had responsibilities now and an unbelievable pressure pushing down on her.

Every night she would toss &amp; turn in her sleep as she struggled with the decisions she'd made and the consequences that were most likely to follow; leaving her emotionally exhausted. Anna could only wonder if this was exactly how Elsa must have felt after her enthronement, and that led her to depressing musings as she mulled over her ever expanding list of regrets.

__'____She was only eighteen when she had to take reign,____' __she thought remorsefully. _'_The same age as me... I wonder what went through her mind? Was she filled with the same amount of fear and dread that I____'ve____ felt?____'__

Elsa had seemed so cool &amp; unfazed at the time that Anna had pondered over how her sister could remain so calm and collected, when she herself would have been a flustered mess, __(which she ___**_**had **_**___been during her first council meeting and she was grateful Kai had stepped in when she ____had____ felt herself become overwhelmed, otherwise it would have been an outright disaster...) __but after reigning for several weeks, she had come to the realisation that Elsa had most definitely been, without a single doubt, scared out of her mind and that every word she might have ever said or every action she might have ever have taken was most likely just all a façade to cover up her own issues.

After all, not only had Elsa had to deal with this new responsibility and ensure the state of their kingdom, she had also been forced to continue to struggle with powers she had no control over, still been burdened by her grief, and forced to avoid the last remaining member of her family in a vain attempt to protect them from harm—even at the expense of her own suffering. The more Anna thought about it, the more determined it made her to find her sister—to wrap her arms tightly around the fair-haired woman and apologise to her for choosing to be so selfishly ignorant all these years, but also to reassure &amp; promise her that she would never again be allowed to bear her burdens alone.

Because they were __sisters___, _they were __family, __and Anna sure as Hell wasn't going to give up on that just because of a few little obstacles __(even if they were actually the size of mountains...) __standing in her path.

"So, what now?" Kristoff asked after a minute of silence; obviously guessing that Anna would not be further initiating the conversation.

Anna knew that he was looking to her for guidance, while at the same time trying to not make her feel pressured or overwhelmed. For someone who could be considered crass, it was quite surprising for her to discover that Kristoff was actually quite sensitive when it came to other people's feelings __(at least for people he cared for...)__

"We give the fleet a week's rest to allow them the chance to spend time with their families and replenish their stock," Anna informed him, even though Kristoff knew that that would be her exact answer even before she said it—as it had been every other time he or anyone else had asked her that. "And then they'll be deployed again."

"Anna..." he sighed out, his brown eyes glazed in sadness.

"I know what you're going to say," she replied, holding her hand up to stop him. "And I'd really rather you'd not. Not today of all days... please..."

The topic of Elsa was always a touchy subject between them and was often left untouched as the blonde male believed Anna was too emotionally invested in every expedition, that she allowed herself to become too hopeful of a positive outcome only to be disappointed again &amp; again, that she had to accept the fact that Elsa was most likely never coming back, and that she needed to move on with her life, to which the Princess would reply scathingly that he was too negative because he didn't know what it was like to_ "___H____ave ____a ____family"___—_a very low blow, she would admit—and that it was none of his business on how she coped, or how she dictated her life.

Their last fight had gotten so heated up that it had escalated to the point of Anna refusing to talk to Kristoff for three days straight. She hadn't forgiven him until he had come to her door with a bag of carrots and a heartfelt apology; a somewhat unromantic gesture compared to the usual selection of roses or chocolates, but she had appreciated the effort nonetheless and had found herself unable to retain her grudge.

"I won't," he spoke cautiously, obviously wanting to refrain from having the same argument again. "But you have to understand that even if you do find Elsa, what do you hope to achieve? You said it yourself, she doesn't know how to control her powers and even if the scouts do manage to find her, there's a big possibility she'll flee again. During her last moments spent here she was brandished as a traitor and sentenced to execution—do you really think she'll just allow anyone to get close enough to her after that? And, if, by some miracle, the fleet did manage to bring her back to Arendelle—how do you think the citizens will react? Hans might have convinced the good majority of them that Queen Elsa is a victim of unfortunate circumstances, but it won't mean much if she can't end the winter."

__"Well it's okay, you can just unfreeze it."__

__"No, I can't! I-I don't know ___**_**how**_**___!"__

__"Sure you can, I ___**_**know **_**___you can!"__

Although she wanted nothing more than to just ignore what she had just heard, Kristoff had made some valid points, and Anna couldn't fault him for his bluntness—it was blatantly obvious, even to her, that there would be many challenges involved for finding Elsa and returning her to Arendelle. And yes, there was still a very good chance that there might be wide-spread panic __(or worse, a revolt) __should the Queen be unable to reverse her magic. However, the young Princess wasn't too concerned with that, because she knew indefinitely that her elder sibling would be able to break the spell.

__"So you're not at all afraid of her?"__

__"Why would I be?"__

Even though the others may have doubted or feared the Queen Elsa's powers, Anna had never for one moment, since re-discovering her sister's abilities, believed that Elsa was a monster nor that she couldn't reverse this winter.

__"Are you sure you can trust her? I don't want you getting hurt."__

__"She's my sister. She would ___**_**never **_**___hurt me."__

Maybe the young Princess was placing too much hope into her older sister and making herself an easy target, but, ever since she was a little girl, Anna had always looked up to Elsa; for her beauty, her grace, her intelligence, her composure, her kindness, her organisational skills—the list was endless—so it was only natural that she would have the utmost faith that Elsa could thaw the land.

_"I get it now..." __Anna__ muttered __quietly__ to Kristoff through clenched teeth the moment she regained her senses, shivering horribly in his arms as the storm surrounded them. "It's love... ___l____ove ____will ____thaw___."_

After all, if it could thaw a frozen heart, then there was no doubt love could also be used to put an end to this cursed winter.

She just needed to convince Elsa of the same thing.

__'____That is,____' __she thought with a frown. _'A___s soon as I find her.____'__

"I understand, I really do. So much loss and despair has occurred because of this entire disaster and even though I don't like it, the people are entitled to resent us for it—but whether they like it or not, we _need _Elsa. Only she can put an end to this winter and restore the kingdom. If not..."

__'____Arendelle will fall,____'__ Anna finished in her head, not daring to say the words out loud. _'_And it will be all my fault...____'__

Of course, if she had actually said that, she would never hear the end of it from the ice-harvester, because he would insist that she wasn't at fault for this whole disaster __(even though ____she ___**_**was**_**___) __and that she had no reason to continue punishing herself. Unfortunately, Anna had also had to hear that exact same thing from both Rapunzel &amp; Gerda many times before, and, although she appreciated their kind words; she sorely wished they would stop spouting out the same nonsense when, in actuality, it really __was __her fault.

After all, it was because of her that their parents decided to close the gates and confine their eldest daughter to an empty room filled with nothing but the cold, loneliness, and total despair.

It was because of her that her big sister lost that carefree grin and bright sparkle in her eyes, and instead donned a persona of indifference; forced to believe she needed to shut out her heart from everyone's reach because it was in her best interests.

It was because of her that Elsa had been driven to her breaking point; causing Elsa herself to cast aside her composure &amp; self-restraint—making her lash out, expose, and humiliate herself—on one of the most important night's of her life and for her to be subjected to the hundreds of terrified cries &amp; fearful eyes of her people before being called a monster by a despicable two-faced old fool.

It was because of her that her sister had fled to the North Mountain to live a life of isolation, thinking it was her only solution, and caused the land to fall into an eternal winter.

It was because of her and her lack of tact that had led Elsa to have her panic attack and accidentally striking her, Anna, with her magic and reinforcing her belief that she had remain alone, thus once again shutting herself away.

It was because of her that her beloved horse, Kjekk, had become frightened during their expedition, making him bolt back towards the castle and alert Hans &amp; the others to Elsa's location; hence resulting in an ambush from the Duke's guards which lead to Elsa's imprisonment.

It was because of her that she had trusted Hans so easily after only knowing him for less than a day—for having foolishly believed it was _"___T____rue ____love___"__—_and not realising that he was simply using her as a tool to get to Elsa and claim Arendelle as his own.

It was because of her naivety, shock, and heartache that the Prince had been able to lock her in the study and deceive the council, the Ambassadors, and the castle's soldiers that had she died by Elsa's hand and that Elsa had to be be executed __(by her very own guards, no less) __for her treason.

It was because of her that her sister hadn't been able to contain her fear and had escaped her prison to venture into the wild blizzard outside; alone, frightened, and vulnerable.

It was because of her that Elsa, by Hans' words, had so easily faltered and collapsed to the ground in defeat; having been overwhelmed by her grief.

It was because of her that Elsa had been wide open to the Prince's incoming attack—too engrossed in her pain to notice anything else around her; thus totally oblivious to the falling blade ready to sever her head and splatter her blood.

It was because of her not thawing fast enough that she hadn't been prevent her sister from fleeing again and reassure Elsa that she was loved and that love was the key to restoring the land.

And it was because of her that Arendelle was still suffering on the brink of hunger &amp; disparity while Elsa was still out there, somewhere, lost, alone, and believing that she was responsible for her sister's death—and just the thought of that was enough to make Anna feel sick with helplessness.

__'____That's why we have to find her,____'_ _she reminded herself, determination flowing through her veins. _'___It's not just about restoring the kingdom and bringing it back to its former glory; it's about saving Elsa as well.____'__

The search for the Queen had been nothing short of time-consuming, arduous and extremely frustrating ever since she had thawed, but Anna wouldn't give up—she was desperate to bring her sister back home and she would take any means necessary to ensure her return.

Because God her help if she lost the last remainder of her family...

"I get it..." Kristoff spoke softly, in a voice that sounded so warm &amp; reassuring and yet so sad at same time. "I might not like it, but I get it... it's just... I don't want you getting hurt."

The young ruler noticed her eyes beginning to get misty, remembering that stupid jerk of a Prince had said that as well before she had departed from the castle for her grand journey, however, Anna quickly shook away any negative feelings that might have be lingering and told herself that the ice harvester wasn't like that.

After all, he more than understood the difficulty of the situation she was in and would pitch in whenever possible—whether it would be with ideas, encouraging &amp; supporting her, volunteering for manual labour, offering valuable insight to the search scouts, or even keeping her from delivering another black eye to Prince Hans—he was always offering to lighten the load weighing down on her small shoulders and always placing them easily onto his own broad ones without a single ounce of hesitation, nor a complaint; and it often left the young Princess to wonder on what she could have ever done to have received such a great person in her life or if she could ever repay him for all his efforts.

__'____Silly girl,____'__ Anna's mind chastised lightly. _'_He doesn't do it because he____'s ____expecting ____something in return. He____'s____ do____ing____ this because he ___**_**loves **_**___you.____'__

Yes, that's right—Kristoff Bjorgman loved her. Anna could see it as clearly now as one could see the sky on a cloudless day, and yet...

__"Oh Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you."__

… a part of her wondered if it was actually true, or if she was deluding herself once again.

After all, who would want to love __her___...? _She wasn't beautiful, or refined, or graceful, or anything at all like what a real Princess should be. Sometimes Anna wondered if perhaps she was adopted because she most certainly didn't have the calm composure that her mother had had, or the sharp wit of her father, or even the same eye colour as Elsa—to her, she stood out from the rest of her family like a sore thumb. At times she would even imagine that in actuality she was a baby who had been found abandoned on the side of the road by the trolls, who had decided to give her to the King &amp; Queen as a token of good will.

Of course, the story was rather far-fetched—but it always seemed rather plausible in Anna's mind.

"I know, Kristoff, and I appreciate your concern, but I can't give up. I did once before and that one was of my biggest mistakes; I'm not about to do it again."

A faint smile appeared on Kristoff's face, surprising Anna slightly. "Elsa's really lucky to have you as a sister."

Although she appreciated his comment, the young ruler couldn't help but think otherwise. After all, Elsa was still out there alone &amp; suffering because she wasn't out there looking for her herself. If she was, then Elsa, without a doubt, would have been back home by now, however, Anna knew she couldn't leave Arendelle on regular basis—Kai didn't have enough authority to make big decisions nor challenge the council's authority, Rapunzel &amp; Eugene were still too inexperienced and unaccustomed to the kingdom's laws, customs, and regulations, and Hans...

__"What...?" She looked on, stunned, wondering if she ____had____ heard correctly; ____staring____ at the Prince ____as____ both cold and confus____ion crawled throughout her body____. "Y-you said you did..."__

As if she'd _ever_ leave __him __in charge again...

"I'll head over to the docks and inform the Captain," the ice harvester spoke up. "Do you need me to get you anything? A hot chocolate perhaps? I know you like it with cinnamon and marshmallows."

The young leader smiled in response, touched by Kristoff's thoughtfulness, and she was reminded once again of just how lucky she was to have someone as kind as him in her life—and just how undeserving she was of his mere presence.

"Thank you for the offer," she replied evenly, "But I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He asked, concern marring his features. "You look a little cold—you want me to head down and get more wood to add to the fireplace?"

"No, I'm fine, really—you've already got enough on your plate." Anna once again replied as she shook her head, hoping to ease her companion's worries. "Besides, I need to give this letter to Rapunzel, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

"O-okay, but if you need anything, let me know—I'm here for you." He looked at with such sincerity that the young Princess almost wanted to fall into his strong arms so she could break down and cry again until every heartache, scar, and wound she had ever endured was healed and nothing more than a bunch of vague memories.

"Thank you." Were the only words she could muster before she watched him walk out of the study, softly closing the door behind him, leaving her alone to deal with her lingering guilt.

__'____It's not fair...____'__ Her conscious whispered, reprimanding her for the millionth time, and Anna promptly clenched her hands &amp; shut her eyes tight as she felt them stinging with tears of shame.

__'____You know how he feels and yet you refuse to acknowledge it because you____'re____ too afraid to admit you don't love him ____back____. You're just using him because you're afraid,____' __the voice continued, revealing to the Princess her deepest, darkest fears.

She bit her lip tightly, hoping the pain would momentarily distract her from the fact of just how much of a horrible person she was and how she really wasn't any better than Hans; manipulating another's emotions just for her own means.

__'____You're afraid that he'll someday realise this and wonder what he ever saw in you. ____A____nd ____then that he'd____ leave you____—____just like your parents ____&amp;____ just like Elsa____—____and then you'll have to continue living here in this cold palace you're forced to call home until the end of your life; spending the rest of those days resenting yourself for never being good enough for your family's affection, and why it ____wa____s that ____the____ one time that you actually ha____d____ the chance fall in love____—___**_**with someone who actually cares for you**_**__**_—_**___you decide____d to____ toss the opportunity aside to instead ____hunt down____ your sister, who ____had____ never been nothing but cold &amp; distant ____towards you and everyone else____ your entire life?____'__

Anna wished she could tell Kristoff what he needed to hear—what he _d___eserved __to hear—and yet, the Princess couldn't bring herself to say the words. She wanted to love him __(oh how she really, really, ___**_**really **_**__**_did_**___!) __but at this point in time, after her fiasco with Hans and everything else currently going on, Anna couldn't bring herself to reciprocate the ice-harvester's obvious feelings.

Not now, not yet, because right now, her heart still had ice in it __(cold &amp; stiff, but still beating, if only barely) __and it only had enough love for one person—Elsa.

* * *

Walking down the halls of the palace filled Anna with a familiar sense of melancholy; a reminder of a childhood spent behind closed gates, locked up in a place she was supposed to call home, even though she had wanted nothing more to flee.

She had spent many hours like this throughout her life— just wandering around the halls aimlessly, trying to find anyone who'd be kind enough to grant her some company, even if it was just for a few brief minutes. Her parents were always too busy with their duties or tending to Elsa to spend much time with her, and none of the staff __(or any of the ____**remaining**____ staff, that is) __had had any children her age that she could have played with, so more often than not, Anna would end up in the stables tending to her beloved horse, or outside in the gardens feeding the ducks.

It was an incredibly lonely time for the red-haired Princess, and yet, she considered it a blessing compared to what Elsa had had to go through.

Shortly after her disappearance, Anna had been desperate for answers and Kristoff had taken her to see Grandpabbi again, hoping he might provide a solution. What she hadn't expected was for the old troll to reveal the truth: that she __had __known about her sister's abilities, but her memories of it had been altered at her father's command.

Pretty safe to say, she was _l___ivid__. Anna had never felt so much anger, hurt, and __hatred __towards anyone else __(not even ____**Hans**____!) __like she had in that moment __(hearing of her parents' betrayal made the Southern Isles____'____ Prince seem like a saint ____in comparison____)__ and it had taken all of her willpower not to scream and start breaking things, or merely throttle the troll leader with her bare hands.

Oh yes, she had been furious with him too—how dare he steal her memories! They were __hers___! _He had no right as much as _touch_ them!

Kristoff had paled at the murderous expression spread across her face and she had no doubt that the trolls had been able to sense her fury as well, however, much to her surprise, none of them had intervened. Perhaps they had been biding their time until she did something that they would have deemed as threatening, having believed that their _fault_, or whatever it had been, hadn't concern her in the slightest—she could've taken Marshmallow on with a fork and still have claimed an easy victory at that point.

After all, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Grandpabbi had continued on to mention he had, inadvertently, frightened the young Elsa by warning her that although her power was beautiful, it was also dangerous and she would need to control it, and that fear would be her enemy, which had prompted the King to decide right-there-and-then on the spot that their only alternative would be to limit Elsa's contact with people and keep her powers hidden from everyone.

That's when Anna had snapped.

It had taken the strength of Kristoff and five grown trolls to hold the young Princess back from doing something she might have regretted; her vocals, however, had been unrestrained and free to express her _**_gratitude_**_.

* * *

__"You stupid troll! Do you ____have any idea of____ what you've done?!" ____Anna____ all but screamed. Had she been of rational thought at the time, the young royal would have been thoroughly mortified by her brash behaviour. "Thanks to your efforts, Elsa has been living in fear for the past thirteen years! And now?! Now she's gone!"__

__"Anna stop!" Kristoff pleaded, desperate to diffuse the situation. "Please calm down!"__

__Even t____hough, in ____her____ opinion, her anger ____had been____ completely justified____, ____a small part of ____Anna____ felt both a mixture of guilt &amp; shame ____for____ act____ing____ like th____is____ in front of the ice-harvester's family ___**_**(and, quite **_**__**_**possibly**_**__**_**, her future in-laws...)**_**_

__After all, he'____d____ never introduced anyone else to them before and here she was throwing it back in his face by acting like a raving lunatic.__

__"This isn't going to get us anywhere!" ____H____e added, trying to appeal to her common sense.__

__Even though she ____**wanted**____ to comply with her companion's request, ____Anna ____was unable____ stop herself. She was just so ___**_**angry**_**___. This whole time she ____had____ never understood why Elsa ____had____ withdr____a____w____n____ herself from ____her____ life, or why she ____had____ shut everyone out; but now that she did, the Princess wanted nothing more than to lash out ____at____ the ones responsible.__

__"Because of you, Elsa stopped talking to me! I had to grow up alone believing that she didn't love me!" ____S____he exclaimed, pain clawing away at her heart, bringing up past wounds that she had never acknowledged ____and____ those that had never been given a chance to heal____—____raw &amp; open and all infecting every ounce of her self-worth.__

__To his credit, the troll said nothing as ____Anna____ continued, taking the brunt of her anger without a single complaint or sort of retaliation.__

__"It's because of you ____that____ she always wore those stupid gloves even in the middle of summer when it was sweltering! It's all your fault our family became divided! It's all because of you...!"__

__A sob escaped ____the Princess'____ lips and she felt like she couldn't breathe any more____—____it all become too much for her as she screwed her eyes tight; exhaustion &amp; heartache beg____inning____ to overwhelm her.__

__"It's because of you... I had to bury our parents ___**_**alone**_**___..."__

__She felt the trolls finally relinquish their hold on her and herself slipping into the comfort of Kristoff's warm arms, holding her carefully ____&amp;____ gently as she fell apart for what would be the first of many times. She mourned for her broken family and her missing sister, she grieved for their gloomy childhood and for all the lost ____possibilities____ of a happier life, and she cursed God for being given the life she was dealing with now.__

__Anna didn't cry a lot, but whenever she did, it always involved her family or those dearest to her____—____especially when Elsa was involved____. B____ecause, for the red-haired Princess, Elsa was the important person in her world. Without her, Anna didn't know how to live.__

__They might have been estranged, but that didn't mean that she loved her big sister any less.__

__Eventually, ____Anna's____ tears dried up and she could form coherent thoughts &amp; sentences again. ____She____ wiped her eyes and regained her composure, however, she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, too afraid to see everyone's expressions____—____no doubt, they ____would____ all be disappointed by her ____erratic____ behaviour.__

__"I'm sorry," she apologised, mortified beyond belief. "I was out of line. Forgive me."__

__Even though Grandpabbi was somewhat responsible for directing her parents to the path they had taken, it was the King &amp; Queen themselves who decided to walk down it____—____they were the ones who she really wanted to yell at, but they were gone now and she had no one else to take out all of her hurt &amp; anger on, except an elderly troll who____'d____ been nothing but accommodating towards her.__

__"No, I should be the one apologising. Please forgive me, Your Highness." ____Grandpabbi____ spoke, sounding somewhat remorseful.__

__Opening her eyes, ____Anna____ noticed her vision was still swimming and she wondered how pathetic she must have looked.__

__"When I gave Queen Elsa my warning, I could already see the path your parents were going to take and I should have done more to intervene. I saw their fear as clear as day, and yet, instead of telling them to conquer it, I gave them more incentive."__

__Anna____ had expected to feel some sort of sick joy to hear his guilt, but instead it made her feel worse.__

__"Queen Elsa only felt fear because we adults instilled ____it____ into her. She was shaken by what had happened to you, but if I ____had____ explained to her that the love around her ____wa____s what she needed focus on instead of her fear, you both might have l____ive____d very different lives."__

__There was something ____the Princess____ wanted to ask, but ____she____ was too frightened to project it. However, she knew it needed to be said out loud, otherwise, she would surely lose her mind and all sense of hope.__

__"Will I..." ____Anna____ stammered ____out____, bracing herself for the wors____t____. "Will I ever see Elsa again...?"__

__"You will, but it won't be easy." ____Grandpabbi____ answered promptly, much to ____her____ relief. "Right now your sister's heart has been filled with pain and despair, as you can tell by the state of Arendelle."__

__That ____wa____s true, when Elsa had disappeared the first time the skies were still clear and ____the____ sun would shine upon the land, but now the skies were a dark grey and ____laden____ with heavy clouds. It ____had____ been snowing non-stop ever since, however, it ha____dn't____ been a heavy snowfall____—____just a light sprinkling, like a sun-shower; which was a blessing considering the massive blizzard they ____had____ endured a few days ago. Anna could only hope it wouldn't get violent any time soon.__

__"____Elsa____ has spent her whole life withdrawing and shutting herself off from others believing it was in their best interests." ____The old troll____ continued and, once again, Anna agreed with the troll, reminded by how Elsa fled to the North Mountain and refused to come back to Arendelle because she deemed herself to be dangerous. It was rather ironic that for someone who ____had____ only met her sister once, Grandpabbi could understand the fair-haired Queen better than Anna had ever hoped to in these past thirteen years.__

__"I'm sorry, this is all true, but what has this got to do with finding Elsa?" ____Anna____ inquired, trying to be as remotely polite as possible. Yes, she understood she was pushing her luck by addressing him so rashly, but her sister was out there somewhere, alone &amp; heartbroken, and nothing was being achieved by this current conversation.__

__"What I'm trying to say is that you won't be able to find her____—____not in the state she's in." He replied which felt like a blow to the gut ____for the Princess____.__

__"B-____b____ut you said I would see her again." She stammered out, confused and shaken by his blunt response.__

__"You will," he spoke, trying to be reassuring. "However, it won't be any time soon. She needs time to reflect and heal."__

__"But she can't if she doesn't know that I'm still alive!" Anna argued back, worry &amp; h____y____steria reigniting her tired frame. She pulled herself away from Kristoff's warm ____arms,____ stepp____ing____ forward, ____and with____ a hand ____placed____ over her beating heart, she said desperately with wide eyes, "Don't you see? She ___**_**needs **_**___me! Please, you have to tell me how to find her! I'm begging you!"__

__"I'm sorry, Your Highness," the elder apologised. ____H____e looked at her with such a genuine sadness, and yet, it did nothing to appease the Princess' stress. "But there's nothing we can do right now except wait."__

__"I spent thirteen years waiting for a door to open when I should have opened it myself." She replied regretfully, scorning herself for never doing so. "I've spent too much time waiting and it hasn't gotten me anywhere. I'm not waiting any more. I ___**_**can't **_**___wait any more! Arendelle needs her, I ___**_**need **_**___her! If you're not willing to help, then I'll find ____Elsa____ myself."__

__She turned and stormed off, despite the ice-harvester's protests, yet she was quickly halted when Grandpabbi called out to her.__

__"I might not be able to help you with what you want," he ____began____ cautiously, "But I might be able to help you with what you ___**_**need**_**___."__

__Curious, the Princess turned back around and slowly approached the older troll, who was currently motioning to someone to come forward. She watched as one boulder rolled towards them and revealed himself____—____a young troll with earnest eyes____—____filling Anna with confusion &amp; wonder. ____W____hat on earth was Grandpabbi planning?__

__"While I may not be able to undo the pain I've inflicted upon you and your sister," he started before gesturing to the other troll. "This young one here, however, can reverse some of the damage."__

__"What are you saying?" ____S____he asked. He couldn't be implying...?__

__"Yes, he can restore your memories to their natural form," ____Grandpabbi____ answered simply. "So even though you'll still be missing your sister, you can at least remember her."__

__Anna looked at both of the trolls with utter astonishment. "Wait, you can do that?!"__

__Grandpabbi simply nodded while the younger troll looked on, however, both were adorning the warmest smiles imaginable and the Princess felt herself suddenly become overwhelmed with a mad rush of joy, excitement, and most importantly: hope.__

__"Thank you! Thank ____you____ so much!" ____S____he exclaimed gratefully, fe____eling____ as though her heart would burst from elation. Even if she wouldn't be finding her sister any time soon, the young woman would settle for memories in the meantime. "You don't know how much this means to me!"__

__Grandpabbi____ simply continued to smile in response whilst the younger troll stepped closer and held out his open hand.__

__"Can I have your hand please?" ____H____e asked politely and Anna instantly obliged to his simple request. Once he locked his thick fingers around her thin gloved ones, he gestured for her to crouch down to his eye level and she quickly complied. She watched in fascination as both of his hands started to glow a beautiful, glittery blue tinge and she noticed, much to her surprise, just how incredibly drowsy she felt all of a sudden____—____had she been tired this entire time and had not noticed until now?__

_**_**'**_**__**_**I could sure go for a nap right about now...**_**__**_**' **_**___she mused before stumbling to the ground. ____It seemed____ all those late nights &amp; early mornings spent searching, organising, consulting, and endless worrying had finally caught up on her.__

__Fortunately, Kristoff was there to catch her before her head hit the ground after, although in the back of her mind, she hoped he wasn't too alarmed by her sudden collapse; she was just tired, nothing major.__

__"Sorry to do this, Your Highness, but memory restoration takes a lot out of the ____recipient____, especially those of low spiritual energy." The troll explained apologetically still holding her hand, however, the young ruler didn't mind____—____she just wanted to sleep and never wake up.__

__The young troll then waved his other hand over her eyes and everything went pitch black.__

* * *

Although the restoration itself hadn't taken that long, the whole process itself had left Anna in a deep slumber for an entire day, which, in comparison, was relatively quick to her last one, considering it had taken several days. Grandpabbi had explained to Kristoff shortly after Anna had passed out that the spell he had cast served as somewhat of a filter—it sorted out all of her memories and altered those of which that were related to magic—the reason why it had taken her so long the last time to awake was because the spell had five years worth of magical moments that needed to be converted.

He had also mentioned that, because Anna had re-discovered her sister's abilities, whether she was aware or it or not, her subconscious had started picking at all of her memories and had started noticing that something seemed amiss with some of them; marking them as abnormal and hence, making it much easier for the young troll to restore. Therefore, the entire recovery process had sped up, which no doubt had brought immense relief to everyone else, who were all in quite a disarray once Kristoff had brought her back to the palace.

Poor guy, Anna couldn't even begin to imagine the verbal lashing the ice-harvester would have received from Kai for taking her the valley _(___unescorted, no less) __and bringing her back several hours later unconscious &amp; totally unresponsive. In hindsight, she should have first returned to the palace to inform the head butler of her plan so he could've at least prepared for her absence, but, sadly, Anna had always acted before thinking about the consequences and quite often would receive a hefty lecture about the importance of having foresight; which, safe to say, occurred shortly after regaining consciousness from one very frazzled Gerda.

And yet, it had been worth the ear-splitting lashing, because Anna finally remembered __everything__.

__"The sky's awake! So I'm awake! So we have to play!"__

From the midnight rendezvous with Elsa, even though it had been late and they both had known how tired they would be come morning.

__"Come on! Come on!"__

__"Shhhhh!"__

__"Come on! Come on!"__

How she would drag Elsa down the hallway and down the stairs buzzing in excitement whilst trying not to get caught by any of the staff, or worse, their parents.

__"Do the magic! Do the magic!__

__"Ready?"__

She could remember the bright spark in her sister's sky-blue eyes and the carefree smile she would wear whenever she would cast her magic, and how she would always cover her mouth with her hand whenever she giggled at something silly.

__"Hi! My name is Olaf and I like warm hugs."__

__"I love you, Olaf."__

The dozens of snowmen they would build all with the name Olaf in honour of their great-grandfather.

__"Tickle-bumps!"__

All the ice-skating and tobogganing which would occur in the ballroom during the middle of summer.

__"Catch me! Again!"__

She could even recall the moment when everything changed...

__"Wait! Slow down!"__

She hadn't understood the danger she had put herself in because she simply assumed Elsa would have been able to break her fall at the time—she had been having so much fun, she had just wanted to keep playing.

__"ANNA!"__

The Princess had placed so much faith in her older sister's abilities that she had never stopped to consider that Elsa herself had been struggling to keep up with her demands, and, because of that reckless attitude of hers, her eight year old sister had been confined to live in an empty room with nothing but guilt, fear, and isolation to keep her company for thirteen painstaking years—forcing her to lose that cheerful persona, and that lovely smile of hers—and Anna __hated __herself for it.

However, after finding her mother's diary and learning of her parents' involvement a week after regaining her memories, Anna decided that she hated her parents __much___ more_.

Yes, she understood it was rather harsh of her to make such a crude statement about the late King &amp; Queen so bluntly, but after reading her mother's entries it was hard for her to feel any sense of compassion for either of them—it was hard for her to feel it for her father, who had made rash decisions after __one ____freaking __accident, separating her &amp; Elsa, and forcing Elsa to wear gloves while telling her __not to feel (seriously, who ____**does **___**_that?!_**__),_ or for her mother, who had continued to stand by her husband's side, not interfering, allowing him to take reign of the entire situation because she had been too afraid by an ability she couldn't understand, even though she knew it was wrong and it wasn't helping Elsa or her in the slightest—their actions merely caused the young ruler's blood boil.

Parents were supposed to love and nurture, not frighten or dictate you.

Still, if there was one thing Anna was grateful for after finding the diary and nearly hurling it into the closest flaming fireplace __(but fortunately refrained from doing so, courtesy of the level-minded Princess Rapunzel, who knew all too well to the sting of a parent's deception)__ it was that it gave her a much better understanding of her older sister and what made her tick. And, more importantly, she now knew how to approach Elsa and get her to open up.

__'____As soon as I find her...____'__

And find her again she would, and, once she did, Anna was tying her down to a chair, regardless of Elsa's cries or protests, and she was not going to let her go until Elsa finally allowed her to properly love her.

__'____WOAH! THAT TOTALLY CAME OUT ___**_**WRONG**_**___!____'__ The Princess thought, horrified, her cheeks burning a flaming red in mortification from the implication of her words, and she was very grateful she had not said them out loud.

Though... she did mean it. Once she found Elsa, Anna was never going to let her go again—the younger Princess was going to spend every waking moment holding her sister and convincing her that she wasn't a monster, nor that was she dangerous, and that she was loved regardless.

She didn't care how long it would take—five, ten, twenty, or even fifty years— Anna wouldn't give up on Elsa. She had once before, many years ago when she had decided to stop knocking on the older girl's door, and she sure as Hell wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

__'____Still, Kristoff's right; even if the fleet ____does____ find Elsa, there's no way she's going to let anyone approach her____—____especially, if they're in Arendelle's military-issued uniforms___.___'__ Anna mused, deep in thought. _'_No doubt, the moment she ca____tches____ sight she'll try to flee, and if she manages to leave the island, then we're back to square one.____'__

It was a hunch, but after several weeks of thoroughly searching the kingdom and its surrounding neighbours, the scouts came to the conclusion that Elsa had most likely had crossed the ocean and was probably residing somewhere within the Viking Archipelago. When Anna had heard that, it had taken all her willpower not to groan out loud and repeatedly bang her head against the desk until she was knocked out cold.

Not much was known about the Viking Archipelago except that it consisted of several hundred small islands, most of which were uninhabited and unfortunately uncharted, so looking for her there was the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack, only less arduous or painful. It also didn't help that most of it was shrouded in thick fog for days on end—hence why most sailors steered clear of travelling through that part of the seas. That, and the fear of being raided—which brought up another concern:

Vikings.

Although her family descended from Viking heritage, Anna's tutor had informed her about the violent history of her ancestors and it horrified Anna to think that her big sister was residing somewhere within their territory; vulnerable and completely unaware of the lion's den she had unwittingly stepped into it. The Princess could only pray that Elsa was living on an uninhabited island—safe and well.

__'____Not to mention, there's still the issue of bringing her back... ____e____ven if she d____oes____ agree to return of her own free will, who____'____s to say something won't happen to ____Elsa____ on the voyage back?____'__

Although it made her uncomfortable, Anna acknowledged the fact that Elsa wasn't viewed by the Arendelle people in a favourable light at the moment and there was a chance that the fleet might mistreat the Queen along the way. Not only that, there was the possibility that she might inadvertently cause a storm, and just the idea terrified the the young woman; she'd already lost her parents to the sea, she couldn't bear the thought of the same fate falling upon her sister.

__'____So what do I do?____' __She wondered, wishing for guidance. Even though she still resented her parents for what they had done, she still wished they were here—they would surely have had a solution._ '_Then again, would ____**any**____ of this have happened if they survived?____'__

Probably not. They would have continued ruling the land, the gates would still be closed, Elsa would still be shut in her room while Anna would continue being oblivious to her sister's suffering, she never would have met Hans, or Kristoff, or Sven, or Rapunzel, or Eugene, and Olaf never would have been born...

Anna might not like the life she was currently living, but it was much more preferable than the alternative.

Because at least this one had more honesty...

* * *

__Author's Note: Oh my God, I'm done! AFTER SIX FRIGGIN' MONTHS I'M ___**_**FINALLY **_**___DONE! (Well actually, there's more to this chapter but I decided to split it, otherwise, this wouldn't be updated for another month! Even though, I would've liked to have added more, I'll at least have some leigh-way for the next chapter...)__

__But anyway, now onto the important things: I want to apologise to all of you for letting you have to wait for so long - these past six months I've been procrastinating, because I struggled a lot with Anna's character - I thought it would be easy, but I found myself stumbling and doubting along the way - and in all honesty, I don't think I've done her justice, however, I found she was too jaded at this point to be the fun, quirky girl we all know and love. I always felt she would have been bitter or resentful over what Grandpabbi &amp; her parents did - but being a Disney movie, you don't get to see that. Hence, why we fanfiction authors exist.__

__I posted up another Hiccelsa story called: ___**_**"Trembling hands and open hearts" **_**___while Chapter 2 is already completed and ready to be uploaded, I figured I should update this story first since I know you'd all kill me otherwise, lol. Still, I would be really happy if you read &amp; reviewed that one too, because I'm really excited to be writing it.__

__I also spent this time doing editing for two stories (so I haven't just been completely lazing about), they are:__

_**_**"Rumours and liabilities"**_**_ __by ____**TheWritingFactory**____ and ___**_**"What once was mine"**_**_ __by the lovely ____**Margaret Helstone.**____ Please read both of them, especially ___**_**"What once was mine"**_**_ __for any Hiccunzel shippers out there - she seriously deserves the reviews!__

__During the past six months, I've also obsessing over ___**_**Corpse Party**_**_ __(again...) and my OTP (Ayushiki - I ship these two ___**_**SO HARD**_**___**!**____) and re-reading the manga which is now a completed translation. I highly recommend it to manga or watching the game-play of it on youtube, however, be warned it's incredibly violent and suited for people over 18. There is the anime as well, but don't watch it; it'll destroy your soul - I BEG OF YOU!__

__I've also fallen into the ___**_**Miraculous Ladybug**_**_ __fandom and I'm not sure when I'm getting out of that one. I even made an AMV of it! They've got a tight grip on me and I can't escape! HELP!__

__Enough about all that though, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to a lot of people who've influenced me these past six months, because without any of them, it would have taken me a lot longer to update - if ever.__

__First to ___**_**TheWritingFactory**_**___**:**____ Thank you for always messaging me to keep tabs on whether I'm alive or not, and for always reading my dozen drafts without an ounce of complaint, and for always providing great feedback - I really appreciate it.__

__To ___**_**Maxaro**_**___: For messaging me to see how I'm going and for always being ready to beta and completing it efficiently, but always giving me his honest opinion. So you watched CP: TS... My condolences, lol! Have you read the manga? Do you like the series? Do you have a favourite character? Mine's Yoshiki and Ayumi.  
__

__To ___**_**fanfictionmakermachine**_**___: Also for messaging me and making sure that I had not disappeared off the face of the earth - thank you. I can't wait to read more of **"Battling the Snowstorm."**  
__

__To the super amazing ___**_**Margaret Helstone**_**___: Words cannot describe how glad I am to have met you. The amount of effort you have put into promoting this story has gone above and beyond! You even did promotional posters/pics for me! Seriously, you're so awesome! Thank you! I can't wait to see your MEP... ;-)__

__To the reviewers: THANK YOU! Without your support or your kind words, this story would have died a long time ago, so thanks. You make it worth it.__

__And most importantly, I want to thank ___**_**Pretty Snowflake **_**___and ___**_**engsarak**_**___: because these two amazing girls have each created a MEP for the Thaw Slowly AMV. Yes, you heard correctly: there's an actual AMV in the making - no definite when it's completed - but two parts have already been uploaded to youtube and THEY ARE INCREDIBLE! I'm not kidding!__

_**_**e**_**__**_**ngsarak **_**___(who I had been following before I found out she was participating in this project) managed to get Hiccup &amp; Elsa to hold hands (OMFG! SO ADORABLE! HOW SHE DID THAT IS BEYOND MY COMPREHENSION!) Plus she used voice overs and I squealed like an excited little girl - it was perfect!__

__**Pretty Snowflake** (who I had been stalking on youtube as well, lol) managed to do THE BLANKET SCENE! I've watched it a million times trying to figure out how she did it! Then she got Hiccup's face to shift to Anna's to show their resemblance - it was so beautiful and well done! But my favourite part was at the end when Elsa is hugging him and he says: "It's okay." I died right there and then...__

__So therefore I'm dedicating this chapter to both of them, because of their efforts, I was able to kick my ass into gear again and finally complete this damn chapter.__

__Thank you, everyone. You have no idea how much this all means to me...__

__Until next time.__


	13. Make haste, I feel your heartbeat

_Find a road to a humble abode where both of our routes meet  
The silver sound is all around and the colours fall like snow  
The feeling of letting go, I guess we'll never know  
Cheer up and dry your damp eyes and tell me when it rains  
And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins  
'Cause your heart has a lack of colour and we should've known  
That we'd grow up sooner or later  
'Cause we wasted all our free time alone_

\- Owl City

* * *

_"Elsa?" Anna called out as she stood in front by Elsa's door; young and wide-eyed and eagerly anticipating to celebrate her first day as a six year old. Knocking on the door in a rhythmic manner; she continued, "Guess what today is..."_

_When there was no response, she figured her sister must be in deep thought, so she exclaimed; "It's my birthday!"_

_She was so excited because lately she hadn't gotten to see Elsa at all, because she was always in her room, but that was okay because it was her birthday and her big sister always made sure to make it the best day ever __**(how she wasn't sure how so - she had somehow forgotten, it was fuzzy - but she knew it was always the best fun!)**_

_She was met with silence._

_"...Elsa?" She tried again, knocking on the door. Once again, there was no response._

_**'Maybe she's still sleeping,' **__she wondered but the sun was up and she knew that her sister was an early riser. '__**Maybe she's not feeling well.'**_

_She felt sad at the thought; if Elsa's not feeling well then she definitely wouldn't be able to come out to play. That's not fair! Elsa never played with her now and she was always in that room and wearing those dumb gloves!_

_Tears started coming out of her eyes and she let out a few sniffles as her nose started to run, before quickly wiping them away with her arm, even though she knew that Mama would tell her that it was disgusting._

_**'I shouldn't feel so sad,' **__she told herself. __**'Elsa's the one whose sick, not me. She must be feeling pretty lonely. I should stay and talk to her, that way she won't be so lonely.'**_

_Anna immediately perked up at the idea: yes, if she couldn't play with Elsa, then she would just stay by Elsa's room and keep her company!_

_And so that was how she spent her entire sixth birthday; sitting by the cold door and talking to her ill sister, hoping that her presence would be enough to cheer her up. And later when Kai &amp; Gerda came up to her with a small chocolate cake with six flaming candles both singing happy birthday, she closed her eyes and blew out the candles as she made her wish._

_**'I wish that, next year for my birthday; I get to spend it with Elsa...'**_

* * *

The words "There you are!" being shouted at her was the first thing Anna heard Princess Rapunzel exclaim the instant she stepped into the warm _(and, for some reason, surprisingly empty)_ kitchen, approaching the young ruler with a look of exuberance.

"Good morning Rapunzel!" Anna greeted back cheerfully, her spirits instantly lifted by the older Princess' presence.

It was hard _not_ to be in a good mood whenever Rapunzel was around because she always projected such a positive aura filled with warmth and kindness that the younger woman was so unaccustomed to. She was open, playful, cheerful and it often made Anna wonder if this would have been Elsa as well if she'd been raised differently.

"I was just looking for you! I spoke to Kai and he's given me this..." she explained before holding out the wax stamped envelope to the brunette and adding, "He says it's from your parents."

"Oh thank you!" the Coronian beamed, carefully retrieving the letter from the teen's hand and quickly glancing at the beautiful cursive writing on the envelope, a huge grin evident on her pretty features. She then suddenly grabbed Anna's hand with her own free one and replied enthusiastically, "I've got something for you too! Come with me!"

The young woman allowed the green-eyed Princess to drag her down the hall, simply being too curious to protest, causing her to ponder briefly on what could have gotten her so ridiculously peppy at this time of the morning.

_'Then again,'_ her thoughts offered, '_It's not exactly all that hard to get her excited in the first place... she's much you like in that way. That's why you get along so well.'_

Her whole life Anna had wondered if she would ever get the chance to have a real friend. She had had Elsa, but everyone knows how that ended, and another one who was a daughter of a dignitary by the name of Rani, who had been kind enough to give the younger Arendellian Princess a book filled with stories of her homeland_ (which Anna often read when her loneliness hit her the hardest)—_however, she hadn't seen nor spoken to her since the King closed the gates.

The worst part was that she hadn't even been permitted to write letters; her parents must having been worried about the possibility of her re-discovering Elsa's abilities and possibly blabbing it to the foreign girl, or worse, revealing her parents' true colours—even though Anna herself had been completely unaware of just how inadvertently cruel &amp; restrictive they were.

Which was rather sad considering all her memories of them presented them as very warm and very loving people.

Except now, she knew better.

The late King &amp; Queen, despite their good intentions, had been terrible parents. They had given into their fear and placed a heavy burden on Elsa, who was much too young and too innocent to bare it, and Anna could never forgive them for that.

_'And the reason why you and Rapunzel have become such close friends...'_

In Rapunzel, she saw a kindred spirit. After all, both of them had suffered at the hands of their selfish parents and both had been forced to grow up in isolation because of something that had been beyond their control—Rapunzel for having an ability by sheer fluke, and Anna because of one simple incident.

Magic was the cause of many of their misfortunes thus far, and yet, neither Princess could fault it or curse the Gods &amp; deities for bestowing it onto their young lives, because, in hindsight, it was still a blessing and the thread that bound them together.

Without it, Anna most likely would have continued living on as an air-headed, useless spare and the Coronian royal would not have met Eugene and would have instead been forced to wed her betrothed, Prince Hans of all people, and spent the rest of her days with that treacherous psychopath—or worse, fall at his hands.

Just the thought was enough to make Anna shudder. No, it was definitely better that things turned out the way they did, for both their sakes.

_'She's too good for him anyway,' _the young ruler mused as they went further down the hall, a sense of nostalgia washing over her, and she could only thank her lucky stars that Rapunzel came into her life when she so desperately needed it—because without her, Anna wouldn't have been able to continue as well as she has to this point. She didn't mean to sound so melodramatic, but it was the truth.

Whenever she was upset or angry or overwhelmed, Rapunzel was always the first one she ran to, always had been—because, to the younger Princess, she was like the sister Anna had always been craving for. It was horrible to say and she hated herself for thinking it, however, the brunette always gave her the time of day to listen intently and give her the reassurance that she was worth someone's attention. Unlike Elsa.

Through open arms &amp; kind words, the Princess of Corona had been able to show her that there was still good in people—even when Anna herself had stopped believing in it.

A memory flashed into her mind; one of the green-eyed woman adorned in what appeared to be_ (much to Anna's astonishment)_ summer clothing, running outside into the courtyard the day it had finally ceased snowing. She remembered the event quite well because it had only been three days since the blizzard and she had been feeling depressed. It was by pure chance that she had happened to look out the window of the study, giving her the opportunity to observe the older Princess.

She had caught brief glances of the brunette before when she had barged out of the open gates and during the ceremony, however, this time had been the first where Anna had gotten to get a good look at Rapunzel and gotten an actual impression.

Her first thought had been how she seemed to be so at ease by her surroundings, even though, as the red-haired royal knew, she'd been unaccustomed to the colder weather _(coming from Corona, which was renowned for its all year warm climate). _Not to mention, it had also been particularly chilly that day, and yet, that hadn't stopped the visiting Princess from having thrown herself into the biggest pile snow she could find to make snow angels, all while wearing the biggest smile Anna had ever seen on anyone else since the coronation. The moment had warmed her in a way that she hadn't experienced in such a long time—it had been a nice feeling.

Because to the young ruler the snow was Elsa itself, even though she was not physically there, Anna felt as if her sister had still been there in spirit, and although it brought her a small sense of comfort; she knew that the others did not see it that way. To them it was a mere hassle, an inconvenience, _a_ _burden_ that needed to be disposed of pronto and it had hurt her _(so, __**so **__much)_ to acknowledge that, but Rapunzel was so different from the others. Instead of shunning or resenting it like everyone else, she'd embraced the snow readily and eagerly, and to Anna it had almost felt as though the Coronian monarch had been wrapping her arms around the missing Queen and telling her that there was someone, who wasn't her sister, who accepted her for who she was.

And that had been the exact reason why Anna had wanted nothing more in that moment than to run outside to hug the brunette and to thank her profusely for not being deterred by the snow's cold or by the misgivings of others, for running through it in flimsy clothing while barefooted without the slightest hesitation, and for kicking it up in air and marvelling at the way it fell.

Of course, it had been rather brief, because a few minutes later her tough-as-nails handmaiden, Cassandra, had come outside in near hysterics and promptly dragged the Rapunzel back inside, but it had been enough to leave an impact on Anna.

Even though it may sound childish or over the top for the young Princess to be affected by one small gesture, words could not have described her gratitude for such kindness—no matter how insignificant it may seem—and it was in that moment, Anna decided she would allow the pretty brunette to get closer to her, should she ever want to befriend her.

Which it turned out to be a few days later.

Long story short, there had been an elderly man, a farmer, who had been stricken down by hypothermia and had been on the decline at a rapid rate. Anna had brought him into the castle after his wife had gone to Grandpabbi for help, having hoped that he would possibly cure the ailing man. However, the troll had been unable to do so and had simply said that they needed to accept his fate.

That had been one of the most awful moments of her young life—watching that elderly person on the verge of death while having been utterly helpless to do anything but stand there and watch as she was forced to acknowledge her sister's magic had been responsible for it. It had been a horrible, gut-wrenching, emotionally crippling experience; one of which Anna never wanted to have a repeat of ever again.

It had been hard enough to watch an innocent bystander suffering because of Elsa's powers, but watching someone _dying_ from them had been another form of torture in itself, and she could only pray she wouldn't have to see it ever again.

All had seem grim at that point, with the farmer wheezing and spluttering for his last breath, when suddenly the door had burst open and there stood Princess Rapunzel with Prince Eugene by her side. Anna had been about to request for the royal couple to leave immediately, however, the brunette had rushed over to the old man before she could say anything.

"Rapunzel, don't..." her husband had pleaded, who obviously wanted nothing more than to be out of that uncomfortable room, but she hadn't paid attention to him. Instead, Rapunzel had gently grabbed the elder's free hand and held it up to her face.

Silence had filled the room and Anna had stared at the Coronian woman in anticipation, wondering what she was about to do, before finally her question had been answered through the form of a lullaby.

_"Flower, gleam and glow—let your power shine. Make the clock reverse; bring back what once was mine..." _Rapunzel hand sung softly and beautifully, stunning the Princess completely. Tears had started creeping out from beneath her scrunched eyelids and onto the farmer's chest as she continued; _"Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine... What once was mine."_

Silence had once again filled the room and Anna had realised, much to her dismay, that the elderly man was no longer apart of this world. Sobs had followed shortly after from the widow and the young ruler had to restrain herself from doing the same.

However, the urge to do so had instantly vanished when she had noticed a sudden glow coming from the deceased man's chest, projecting in the form of a golden flower.

_'Wait, what?'_ She had thought, but before she had been able to even comprehend what had been occurring, the entire room had quickly became flooded with a warm vibrant light—as though it were caressed by the sun itself. With the light flowing and swirling around them, Anna had only been able to stand there, mesmerised by its beauty before it slowly vanished and the room had become still again.

Though, mere moments after that, it had been interrupted by a loud gasp from the farmer, who was now sitting upright and looking better than ever.

His wife had gasped and excitedly cried out his name, before wrapping him in a loving embrace, but Anna had been too astounded to rejoice in the man's revival.

_'He's alive... how is that even possible?' _She had wondered as she had idly watched the scene, trying to wrap her mind around what had just occurred.

Anna had thought just being able to conjure ice &amp; snow to be incredible, but this... this was something else. This Princess had been able to inject life into the dying man when it had all seemed to be hopeless. She had rejected the bleak reality Anna had thought she would have been forced to accept and turned it around—and just like that, the two Princesses instantly became the closest of friends.

"Come on, this way!" Rapunzel exclaimed, as though she were about to burst from sheer excitement.

"Where are we going?" Anna asked, although she had a clear guess as they approached the ballroom doors, which were firmly shut. She frowned; she had told the staff that she specifically hated closed doors and that they were to be left open at all times regardless—it was a petty demand considering she was rather lax with how everything else was run within the castle, but it was one thing she would not compromise on.

The Coronian royal quickly walked over to the doors, pushing them ever so slightly to peer in, and Anna was about to do the same when she suddenly closed them again. Turning around, the brunette wore the biggest grin and hastily approached the younger Princess.

"Okay, close your eyes," she said, causing Anna to raise an eyebrow.

"What...?" She replied back confusedly, though curious at her friend's weird request.

"Come on, just trust me on this!" The older woman pleaded, before adding, "I promise you won't be disappointed."

Anna stared into the brunette's pretty doe green eyes, before letting out an exaggerated sigh and doing so.

"Okay," Rapunzel beamed as she gently grabbed Anna's hands. "So no peeking, promise?"

"I promise," she replied, but curiosity was starting to get the better of her.

"Alright, just follow my lead." They took several steps before Anna heard Rapunzel crying out, "We're ready!"

A moment later, the young Princess could hear the scurry of feet and the sound of doors being pulled open, _(only leaving her to wonder what on earth was going on)_, however, she was pulled forward before to could continue to muse any further. She could hear faint murmurs &amp; soft giggling and just when she caught the scent of chocolate, Rapunzel told her to open her eyes again.

"SURPRISE!"

Before her, the entire room, filled with a dozen men, women &amp; children from the village, all of the castle staff, the council members, Prince Eugene, Olaf, Sven_ (well, as best as a reindeer could)_, Kristoff and Rapunzel, all cried out cheerfully.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Wait, what?!" Anna exclaimed, completely stunned by her surroundings—the whole room was filled with colourful balloons &amp; streamers, and she even noticed the banner up above them written in beautiful cursive _(Rapunzel's no doubt)_ saying in bright, bold colours:_ "Happy birthday Anna!"_

Looking at it all, she couldn't help but wonder outloud; "What's going on?"

"It's your birthday!" Rapunzel sang happily before wrapping her arms around the confused royal in a tight hug.

"My birthday...?" She repeated, really dazed.

Although she had been aware that today was her birthday, Anna really didn't allow it to register how much of a big deal it actually was, since she didn't remember ever actually celebrating it. For her, birthdays were merely sad reminders of how cold and distant her relationship with Elsa was—because if her big sister couldn't open the door and celebrate the day with her, then what was the point of having a birthday altogether?

"B-but...?" She started shakily, her eyes beginning to get wet. Oh no, she was going cry again. "… why? It's only my birthday, it's nothing special..."

The older Princess slowly pulled back from their embrace and looked at her with sad eyes, and Anna wanted nothing more than to pull the brunette back into her arms and comfort her.

"I know what it's like to feel completely alone on your birthday..." She answered with a pained expression, one that Anna was all too familiar with, "And thinking the entire day that you don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but at night, when I saw those lanterns floating through the sky; they gave me hope. Even though I didn't know where they came from, or why they were there—I just always felt like they were meant for me. You could say, it saved me; in more ways than one."

Rapunzel had told her once before of how seeing the floating lanterns gave her the push she needed to step out of her tower and see the world, but she had never explained _why_ it mattered so much to her.

Gently grabbing the younger Princess' hands, the brunette continued softly, "But you've never had that. So that's why we have to celebrate today—because you do matter, you are someone worth paying attention to, and you are _loved_."

Throwing her arms around the Coronian, the pair stumbled a little, but fortunately Rapunzel managed to keep their footing—all the while tears started slipping out of Anna's eyes and down her cheeks at a rapid pace, but this time they were ones of happiness.

"Thank you," she whispered. _'For being in my life, for being my friend, for reminding me not to lose hope—I love you.'_

"Any time," the older woman replied. "Now let's get some cake before Eugene gets any weird ideas."

Anna laughed and let go of her friend, wiping her face and nodded in agreement. Together, they headed towards the gigantic purple cake with yellow sunflowers, and she was offered a stool to step on to reach the top so she could blow out the candles. She closed her eyes, made her wish, blew them out and smiled as she heard the round of applause surrounding.

_'I wish that, next year for my birthday; I get to spend it with Elsa...'_

* * *

_Author's notes: So here's another chapter done &amp; dusted and I have no doubt that many of you would be disappointed by the length (I know I am) and the fact that it focused on Anna again instead of our favourite couple (especially since it's probably been almost a year since I've written for them which really sucks!) for that I'm really sorry. Then again, at least I haven't pulled a Kubo...  
_

_Life's thrown me up against the wall since February - I won't go into details - which has left me feeling stressed, exhausted, hopeless, heartbroken, and so many more things. So over this year!  
_

_Not to mention, writing Anna's part has been a real struggle for me and made me wonder if I would ever be able to finish this damn chapter. Originally, it was going to end on a depressing note, but having just had my own birthday recently, I figured we both deserved a break from all the heart ache and pure angst, which is why Rapunzel organised the surprise party. Having grown up isolated her whole life (and most likely spent a lot of her birthdays alone), I'd have no doubt she would get along with both Anna and Elsa, but she would definitely have a bigger impact on Anna in the form of an older sister and would do anything in her power to make Anna happy since Elsa is currently out of the scene._

_Now before anyone gets any weird ideas, just letting you know that Anna and Rapunzel are just really close friends. So when Anna mentioned that she loved Rapunzel; she meant it in a sisterly sense and nothing more._

_Now onto the comments!_

_To **Momijifan Low-Ki:** My favourite pairing out of the crazy square is actually Ladrien, and then Ladynoir - which is funny because usually I like the whole superhero/ordinary girl duo, but with Marichat, I just feel stagnant, same with Adrinette._

_To **Tasia'sENDLESSDreams:** I never really put that much thought into Elsa's emotional purging, but now that you mention it, it definitely makes a lot of sense and all the more profound._

_To **Noctus Fury: **While I can't answer all of your questions (spoiler alerts, etc) I can at least guarantee her hair will continue to be blonde; the only way it would turn brown was if she was to lose her magic, which won't be happening anytime soon._

_I want to thank everyone whose ever reviewed, it always makes my day, and helps me know if I'm on the right track._

_So now onto some exciting news: there is now an official blog on **tumblr** dedicated to this story - how friggin' awesome is that! The kudos goes to **Margaret Helstone** for designing the entire page, type in**thaw slowly dot tumblr **and go check it out. There's not a lot on it so far, but if anyone comes up with any art or work dedicated to the story please let us know so we can post it. It features a comic strip based on a scene in chapter 9, some photos and a link to one of the most exciting AMVs I've seen - it's called **"elsa and hiccup / love lines."** When I watched it, I squealed so loudly - it's incredible! **Louise Martin**, the editor, made an entire AMV based on the story thus far and words cannot describe how much I adore it, so this chapter is for you as thank you for all your hard work and effort. Sometimes, I forget just how much this story has impacted others and when I see people commenting or making something for it, it makes so unbelievably happy._

_Speaking of AMVs: **Margaret** (you talented thing, you) made another video for this story and posted it up on **youtube**. This time based on the beginning of last chapter when Anna was about to become frozen - it's beautiful, gripping, stunning and heartbreaking. It's called **"Unloved"** go watch it! Now, right now!_

_I also recommend checking out **Pretty Snowflake**'s most recent Hiccelsa vid called **"He's blue - Hiccup &amp; Elsa"** so gorgeous! Actually, just go watch all her clips._

_And don't stop there, go onto **xMiss Candyx**'s profile and see her works as well - her maskings are pure perfection!_

_Also go check out **Oncie Punzie** as well - she's got some wicked vids ;-)_

_A shout out to **TheWritingFactory** for constantly supporting me through out this entire time, even though I might not always reply back to you, I really appreciate your messages and your encouragement; I wouldn't have been able to get this far without your support._

_Another shout out to **Maxaro** as well for taking time to edit my work and to ensure it's not a complete mess - seriously, you have no idea how much I appreciate it._

_Alright, I think that's about everything. I'll get to work on the next chapter as soon as possible (although, I really want to work on **Trembling Hands and open hearts**...) and should hopefully be posted before October (fingers crossed.) If anyone wishes to talk to me, any questions or suggestions, I do have a tumblr profile under the name of **cried2dream** \- I'm available at anytime, although anyone whose been on it recently would have noticed my current angst over the ending of **Bleach**; it's not pretty...  
_

_Until next time._


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